ProSocial AI, as a Catalyst for Social Welfare and Participation
Cornelia C. Walther · 2026
This chapter examines the potential of ProSocial Artificial Intelligence (ProSocial AI) as a catalyst for social welfare and meaningful civic participation. Its central thesis is that AI is a powerful means, but its ends must be rigorously determined and directed by Natural Intelligence (NI), the composite of humans’ moral, emotional, cognitive, and social capacities. For centuries, societies have been driven largely by commercial interests, leaving a legacy of inequalities and social fractures. Given AI’s capacity to mediate the human mind, the Fourth Industrial Revolution demands a fundamentally different orientation: leadership with a prosocial vocation, conditioned by human agency—the capacity and volition for autonomous action. The analysis employs the POZE paradigm (Perspective–Optimization–Zeniths–Exposure) to map AI’s implications across four core arenas of society: the micro (individual), meso (organizational), macro (national policy), and meta (global governance)—the m4-matrix . It outlines how a shift in social policymaking, if guided by ProSocial AI, can make society more inclusive and more prepared for a hybrid future. Instead of merely reacting to technological disruption driven by commercial motives, we can proactively shape new technologies through their design, delivery, and deployment so they become enablers of universal welfare and active citizenship for present and future generations.