ONTOLYTIC EFFECTS OF AI - WIDENING THE FRAMEWORK FOR RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

This article examines how artificial intelligence (AI) disrupts the conceptual foundations of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). We argue that AI's ontolytic capacity-its ability to decompose and reconfigure established categories of authorship, cultural representation , and governance-renders conventional RRI frameworks inadequate. Focusing on generative AI's role in producing and distorting cultural identities, we demonstrate how the technology functions as both a mirror and an agent of societal values. The emergence of "na-tional AI" systems further complicates this landscape by embedding particular cultural and ideological commitments into technical infrastructures. We contend that RRI must evolve beyond its Western-centric origins. It can no longer limit itself to managing the impacts of a neutral technology but must now navigate a landscape where AI is simultaneously a subject of governance, an agent in the governance process, and a battleground for global cultural and political influence. The future of RRI lies in its ability to address this tripartite challenge, fostering mechanisms for genuine epistemic inclusion in a world where the very concept of responsibility is being digitally deconstructed.