Artificial Intelligence:

A New Interlocutor of Croatian Society

AI-COM

Project Lead: Assoc. Prof. Marko Kardum, PhD

Duration: four years

Institution: Faculty of Croatian Studies

AI-COM

About the Project

An interdisciplinary study of the development, application, and social effects of artificial intelligence in contemporary Croatian society.

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a key societal issue. Understanding it requires establishing a theoretical framework for the nature, functioning, and challenges of AI development, for how society approaches AI, how and for what purposes it is used, and what its implications are.

Within the context of the digital transformation of Croatian society, research into AI enables the development of ethically grounded, informed approaches to its application. The project covers several thematic areas. The first explores the philosophical foundations of artificial intelligence. The second analyzes the use of AI in society and its impact on business. The third examines the application of AI in science and public relations. The fourth explores the potential for creative use of AI and the ethical norms required for its use.

The project is based on the Strategic Document for Scientific Research of the Faculty of Croatian Studies (2025–2030). The research will be carried out over four years, combining a theoretical analysis of the historical, pragmatic, and technical concepts that led to the development of artificial intelligence and shape its use today, together with qualitative and quantitative methods for studying the impact of AI.

The research will contribute to understanding how citizens of the Republic of Croatia understand and use artificial intelligence, and will identify groups exposed to its negative effects in order to shape recommendations for the use of AI. The project contributes to the development of ethical guidelines and standards for the use of AI in business, science, and public relations, and to understanding AI through an interdisciplinary analysis of its cognitive, linguistic, and historical-cultural aspects.

Philosophical Foundations of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence in Society and Business

AI Applications in Science and Public Relations

Creative Applications of AI and Ethical Standards

Research Framework

General Scientific Objectives

To develop an integrated philosophical-pragmatic framework for analyzing contemporary artificial intelligence that connects the historical development of cybernetics, connectionist models, and transformer-based language models with questions of language, meaning, and understanding.

To examine the motivation, habits, methods, and purposes of AI use among users of different sociodemographic characteristics in the Republic of Croatia. To examine the role of key factors influencing the acceptance and use of artificial intelligence among different groups. To examine users' ethical and safety perceptions of AI. To examine the effects of AI use among users of different sociodemographic characteristics.

To examine the motivation, habits, methods, and purposes of AI use in public- and private-sector business among employees and management structures in companies that are Croatian-owned or operate within the territory of the Republic of Croatia. To examine the role of key factors influencing the acceptance and use of AI in public- and private-sector activities. To examine the ethical and safety perceptions of AI users in public- and private-sector business. To examine the effects of AI use on the performance of business tasks among employees and management structures in the public and private sectors.

To examine the motivation, habits, methods, and purposes of AI use in the fields of art, science, and public relations. To examine the role of key factors influencing the acceptance and use of AI. To examine users' ethical and safety perceptions of AI. To examine the effects of AI use on the performance of professional tasks.

Researchers

Project Team

The interdisciplinary team brings together researchers from various scientific fields relevant to the study of artificial intelligence and its social impact.

Project Lead

Assoc. Prof. Marko Kardum, PhD

IG Assoc. Prof. Ivana Greguric, PhD

SS Assoc. Prof. Sandro Skansi, PhD

IB Assoc. Prof. Ivan Burić, PhD

ŽD Assoc. Prof. Željka Metesi Deronjić, PhD

VV Asst. Prof. Vanesa Varga, PhD

AD Asst. Prof. Ana Marija Dunaj, PhD

External Collaborators

MM Prof. Marina Merkaš, PhD

SS Assoc. Prof. Stefan Lorenz Sorgner, PhD

KŠ Kristina Šekrst, PhD

Project Announcements

News, announcements, events, and other current information related to the implementation of the AI-COM project are available on a separate announcements page.

View Announcements

Project Funding

This institutional research project is carried out within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) 2021–2026, co-financed from source 581 – the Recovery and Resilience Facility.