The INCT AI and Sustainability is established as an interdisciplinary research hub committed to the critical analysis, normative development, and responsible implementation of Artificial Intelligence systems within complex social contexts. Its scope extends beyond technological cooperation, structurally articulating legal, philosophical, educational, and regulatory dimensions, recognizing that technical innovation must be intrinsically linked to parameters of democratic legitimacy and public accountability.

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The consolidation of AI ecosystems oriented toward the collective interest requires the establishment of institutional frameworks capable of ensuring decisional transparency, the protection of fundamental rights, data governance, and algorithmic accountability. In this regard, the Institute operates on the premise that intelligent systems are not neutral instruments, but rather socio-technical artifacts that embody values, normative assumptions, and power structures.

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The ethical and social implications of AI—including algorithmic biases, structural discrimination, informational asymmetries, and the concentration of technological power—are treated as central objects of scientific inquiry. The analysis of these phenomena demands integrated methodological approaches, combining foundations from the philosophy of technology, legal theory, political economy, and computer science to produce robust diagnostics and grounded regulatory proposals.

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Regarding sustainability, the INCT adopts an expanded and critical conception that transcends formulations restricted to economic growth or productive efficiency. Sustainability is understood as a normative horizon oriented toward guaranteeing the material, ecological, and institutional conditions that ensure the continuity of life in its biological, social, and cultural diversity. Such a perspective implies evaluating the environmental impacts of digital infrastructure, the energy consumption of computational systems, and the distributive effects of technological transformation.

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This approach engages with philosophical traditions that analyze technique as a constitutive dimension of the human experience. Since the evolutionary processes that characterize Homo sapiens as Homo faber, the production of artifacts and technical systems has shaped economic, political, and symbolic forms of organization. In the contemporary context, marked by highly technologized and interconnected societies, it becomes imperative to critically re-examine the normative foundations guiding the incorporation of new technologies.

 

The challenges faced by today's societies highlight the need for integrated socio-technical planning. Structural issues, such as the universalization of basic sanitation and access to clean water, coexist with highly specialized demands related to the management of digital infrastructures, communication networks, and smart city systems. The incorporation of Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) into these environments increases the complexity of public decision-making, requiring governance models that articulate technological efficiency, distributive justice, and environmental responsibility.

 

Given this scenario, the INCT AI and Sustainability directs its activities toward the formulation of innovation paradigms that reconcile scientific development, social equity, and ecological preservation. Its institutional commitment consists of producing rigorous knowledge, training qualified professionals, and contributing to the construction of public policies capable of steering digital transformation toward the common good.