Support NWA Route: Value creation through responsible AI and Big Data

The ever growing amount and diversity of data and the rampant developments of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have led to a multitude of application possibilities: from optimising traffic flows, predicting volcano eruptions, selecting job applicants to improving prevention and diagnosis methods in healthcare. All this leads to new questions not only about infrastructure and technology, but also about society, which will increasingly have to deal with AI.

Within the Route Value Creation through Responsible Artificial Intelligence and Big Data of the National Science Agenda (NWA), these issues are addressed. This is one of 25 routes established by the NWA in 2015, designed to bring society, science and business closer together. The route focuses on the social significance and impact of AI and the great diversity of data in our society.

Changing the playing field

The route management is coordinated by Tibor Bosse (Radboud University Nijmegen) and Freek Bomhof (TNO). In 2022 and in collaboration with them, Waag Futurelab returned to the original questions that formed the base of the route. Together with scientists, policymakers and developers in the field of AI and Big Data, we looked at how the playing field has changed since 2015 and took a first look at the future of the route.
You can read more about this review in the report In search of a new social agenda around Big Data and AI.

A new thematic focus

In 2023, Waag Futurelab researched a thematic focus for the Research on Routes by Consortia (ORC) programme line. This line is intended for large-scale and long-term research. In co-creation with citizens, Waag considered both opportunities and challenges of future developments of AI and Big Data. From this came a list of various themes and an initial prioritisation of research directions and questions regarding the future of the route. The outcomes and recommendations can be found in the report Societal input thematic focus NWA ORC 2024 and have provided input for the NWA ORC call in 2024.

During 2024, Waag further expanded its research into a societal research agenda for AI in collaboration with the Dutch AI Coalition (NL AIC). The results of that research can be read in the article Dutch Population sets priorities for research agenda AI. The main results of the survey show that ‘Fake news, fake pictures and polarisation’ is seen as a crucial theme in future research on AI by 58% of the Dutch population. This includes concerns about the spread of false information and the possible misuse of deepfake technology.

In 2025, Waag, in collaboration with route management, is once again shaping a new NWA-ORC call. The foundation for this call will be the outcomes of the previous research. By also involving stakeholders from the field, such as journalists and editors, technology developers, policymakers and researchers in the formation of this call, we are working towards a broadly supported research direction and questions for the route. In addition, we are also investigating in a broader sense how to involve society in agenda setting, call formation and assessment of research proposals.