Artificial intelligence, as one of the transformative technologies, has had a profound and widespread impact on all aspects of human society. This technology has significantly transformed critical infrastructures and created new patterns in their operation and development. Today, artificial intelligence is not only an emerging technology but is also evolving as a new vital infrastructure, whose significance goes beyond the traditional roles defined for technology. In this context, the present research aims to address the fundamental question of how well this perspective aligns with scientific principles and empirical evidence. This study examines the capacity of artificial intelligence as a "critical infrastructure" and identifies fourteen key variables related to this subject. The findings from this stage have been thoroughly evaluated using the method of Cross-Impact Analysis.
The research findings reveal that in the Cross-Impact Analysis diagram, the components of irreplaceability (coordinates 31-30), vulnerability and threat (coordinates 30-29), and security-enhancing and security-eroding (coordinates 31-29) exhibit the greatest impact on other variables. Additionally, these variables exhibit the highest level of susceptibility to influences from other factors related to artificial intelligence. The characteristics of being people-centered, pervasive, transnational, and accessible are among the variables that have a lesser impact on other factors, yet are strongly influenced by other variables. Finally, the characteristics of being a critical infrastructure for other vital infrastructures, self-evolution, autonomy, decentralization, being inter-networked, and flexibility of artificial intelligence have been identified as variables with a significant influence on other factors, while they themselves are not substantially affected by them. These variables, known as "determinant variables," play a crucial role in developing the research idea and reinforce and validate the initial perspective of artificial intelligence as a "critical infrastructure."
The findings of this research suggest that artificial intelligence, due to its unique characteristics, holds a position beyond that of an emerging technology. These characteristics not only highlight its high capacity and impact on other critical infrastructures but also validate and strengthen the perspective of artificial intelligence as a "critical infrastructure" as a key approach to understanding its significance in the contemporary era.
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