Workshop on Question Zero: Beyond the ‘AI First’ Hype
On March 12, 2026, the AI Policy Lab at Umeå University team conducted the workshop “Question Zero: Beyond the ‘AI First’ Hype” during the Winter School on Ethical, Legal, and Societal (ELS) aspects of AI and ASat Umeå University.
Before you adopt AI, ask the right question first. Not “Which AI should we use?” But: “Under what conditions should an AI system be adopted, if at all? “That is Question Zero (Q0). We live in an era of AI hype. Governments are pouring huge resources into AI acceleration. Organisations are rushing to adopt. But speed is not a strategy. And technology is not destiny.
The Dutch childcare benefit scandal shows what happens when we skip Question Zero. An algorithm accused tens of thousands of innocent parents of fraud, destroying jobs, families and lives. Q0 was never asked.
Next up: figuring out what situated AI looks like not just as critique, but as practice, that is, research that is itself accountable to the communities it studies.
Q0 is a practical, free assessment tool developed at the AI Policy Lab at Umeå University with five categories of questions. Below we list some of the questions under each category (see the full version of the tool – below).
WHY? Motivation
- Why do you plan to adopt an AI system?
- What problem(s) is your organisation trying to solve with a new AI system?
- What are the available alternatives, incl. human, other technical non-AI solutions, etc.?
WHO? Stakeholders and inclusion
- Which stakeholders could benefit if the AI system is adopted and how?
- Which stakeholders could potentially experience any risks/harms after adopting the AI system and how?
- Does the AI system offer an opt out option for all impacted stakeholders?
WHAT? Type of AI system
- What type of AI system are you planning to adopt?
- How does this choice match the specific problem your organisation aims to solve?
HOW? Adoption and governance
- How do you plan to monitor/analyse the new AI system’s outputs and performance?
- How will you ensure the security of your organisation’s and your clients’ data?
WHERE? Infrastructure and control
- Where does the training data originate from?
- Where will the AI system run and data be stored?
- Where is the AI system’s provider based?
During the workshop, participants worked in groups and applied the Q0 assessment tool to realistic AI adoption scenarios, including:
- an AI system for emotional music personalisation on streaming platforms
- automated hiring screening systems used in recruitment
- workplace analytics tools analysing employee activity and productivity
- AI systems for prioritising drug discovery in pharmaceutical research
Q0 is not anti-AI. It is pro-thinking. Technology is a human endeavour. We create it. We shape it. We can choose differently.
Download Q0 Assessment Tool v3
Draft – March 2026
If you have questions or comments about the Q0 tool, feel free to reach out to us via: contact@aipolicylab.se.