As a resource that helps people interact with the world, understand their environment, solve their problems, and improve their lives, knowledge has a significant part in the development, advancement, and sustainability of societies. In the most general sense, knowledge is defined as the connection between the subject and the object, while for centuries, it has been considered a virtue, come to be a part of social relationships without any expectation of return, and contributed to the advancement of many fields, including education, science, technology, culture, and others. Humans, who constitute the species with the most advanced nervous system among all primates, have used all the knowledge they have gained throughout their history to make their lives easier and transferred their knowledge base from generation to generation using various tools. Especially after the Industrial Revolution, technological knowledge has assumed significant roles, and technology has become the most important factor triggering social change. The involvement of machines in human life in all areas and the increasing expectations of humanity from machines as stakeholders led to substantial developments in the field of information and communication technologies, especially in the second half of the twentieth century. Machines have started to get a share of human knowledge day by day, and this process brought the phenomenon of “artificial intelligence” to the agenda of humanity, along with several concerns.

Humanity faces important questions regarding knowledge and its sharing. With the consecutive developments experienced after the industrial revolution, it is acceptable for knowledge, “which is a social virtue”, to become an “instrument of capital” and be shared by those who have command over it with the rest of society to some extent. However, the source of debates is the concern that knowledge can be shared with machines to a degree that could threaten the existence of humanity, the control of humanity over machines can be lost willingly or unwillingly, and machines can act independently of humanity.

Artificial intelligence (AI) brings about numerous advantages in terms of speeding up decision-making processes by analyzing large sets of data fast, making inferences and providing customized experiences based on the analysis of complex relationships by recognizing patterns, conducting cybersecurity tests, making operational processes more efficient, and using information and data effectively in processes such as the provision of societies with broader opportunities in various areas including health and education.

In addition to all these advantages contributing to social life, developments in the field of AI have the potential to intervene with the private lives of individuals with big data analytics and other technological developments. In particular, significant debates about “privacy” take place around the collection and processing of personal data. In the near future, ethical problems may be caused by issues such as algorithmic injustice, prejudiced decision-making, and human rights violations. Automation and the automatization of operational processes may result in the disappearance of some occupations by causing loss of labor and changes in labor dynamics in various fields of work. It is likely that the inequalities between communities without a technological infrastructure or education opportunities and those with advanced technology will become more prominent in terms of access to information. Constant interaction with technology and AI may increase the dependence of individuals on these systems. Moreover, in case the control of these systems by humanity disappears completely, technology may have negative effects on societies.

More examples of social problems that are likely to be caused by AI can be listed. Nevertheless, humanity is experiencing a novel revolutionary period regarding the acquisition, processing, interpretation, and sharing of knowledge.