Happiness is the next AI KPI if Oxford researchers have their way
SandraWachter5 · x · 2026-10-22
The Register covers a Royal Society Open Science paper by Oxford Internet Institute researchers led by Sandra Wachter, arguing EU policymakers should ensure taxpayers funding AI get a 'happiness dividend' in return.
The paper notes the public backs AI through funding, tax breaks, and access to land, water, energy, infrastructure and data—much of it swept up without consent to train frontier models, spurring lawsuits. It proposes happiness as a third goal for AI heavyweights alongside economic growth and risk mitigation, arguing citizens 'inadvertently helping to create the next generation of tech billionaires' need more than growth promises.
Related event: Oxford researchers urge making well-being a core goal of EU AI policy(2 posts)→
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