TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AS NARRATIVE AND MORAL PRACTICE. CULTIVATING RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION IN AI-DRIVEN START-UPS

The thesis investigates how the notion of Responsible Innovation (RI), conceived for research institutes and established firms, can be applied to the context of start-ups, where resource constraints and uncertainty about the final technological product make ethical assessment more difficult. The research unfolds through the analysis of the concept of responsibility in the innovation context and in the field of ethics and philosophy of technology. While presenting the taxonomy of its meaning in detail, I identify the aspects most suitable to the approach adopted in the thesis, and to address the hypotheses formulated. Then, the research draws on a study of the conceptual and hermeneutic aspects of technological development, which culminates in an empirical study conducted in the research and development laboratory of the Franco-Norwegian start-up Beefutures. I show how prospective scenarios of technological impact, and the corresponding responsibilities, generate opportunities for moral reflection for individuals and teams. Then, the analysis leads to frameworks in which responsibility is cultivated as a collective practice and conflicting responsibilities are addressed through dialogical and practical means, thereby aligning innovation with personal fulfilment and meaningful work. Within this context, a significant role is played by the study of how these dynamics are influenced by recent developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This technology constitutes one of the driving forces behind the most recent wave of innovations, guiding or complementing the research and development process in many of today’s start-ups. Beefutures, in particular, develops new AI-enhanced technologies for beekeeping and biomonitoring through bee colonies, and the case studies addressed in this research will therefore be linked to this innovation and to its potential applications.