Oxford study: the public is an AI shareholder and deserves a happiness dividend
SandraWachter5 · x · 2026-10-22
Researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute, led by Professor Sandra Wachter, argue in a paper published in Royal Society Open Science that happiness should become a third goal of EU technology policy, alongside economic growth and risk mitigation.
Key points:
- Citizens effectively act as AI 'shareholders', supporting development through funding, tax breaks, and access to land, water, energy, infrastructure and data.
- The paper calls for a 'happiness dividend': companies benefiting from public support should demonstrate their tech improves well-being.
- Drawing on decades of psychology research, it identifies relatedness, competence and autonomy as established drivers of happiness, noting that making tech less harmful is not the same as making it socially beneficial.
Related event: Oxford researchers urge making well-being a core goal of EU AI policy(2 posts)→
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