The beginning of AI-driven welfare? An inquiry into how public sector AI experiments shape the Danish welfare state

This study investigates the nascent stages of an AI-driven welfare state by focusing on 40 signature projects initiated by the Danish Government between 2020 and 2022. These projects represent a paradigmatic case of AI experimentation within the welfare state. We adopt an empirical approach based on mixed methods to explore the objectives, organizational actors, goals, and outcomes of the projects, shedding light on the evolving landscape of AI-driven welfare from 2020 to 2023. The chapter highlights the variance between welfare domains in the objectives set for AI models and the differences between municipal and regional experimentation with welfare, focusing on how they differ with respect to implementation and research goals. While only some of the projects to date have been operationally implemented, several live on as prototypes or partial systems with the potential to transform the welfare state beyond their formal termination.