Question Zero (Q0)
Q0 is a practical, free assessment tool developed at the AI Policy Lab at Umeå University with five categories of questions.
Responsible AI begins before AI adoption. Question Zero (Q0) starts from the purpose and asks under what conditions and whether AI is the right solution to the current problem.
Q0 helps organisations to pause and ask thoughtful questions prior to the full-scale AI adoption.
Read our publications about Q0
Dignum, V., Carli, R., Dahlgren Lindström, A., Ericson, P., Titareva, T., & Tucker, J. (2026, June). Question Zero for Explainability and Vice Versa: The Case of the EU’s AI First Strategy. In International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 17-31). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-29456-2_2
Titareva T., Tucker J., Carli R., Movchan V., Dignum V. (2026). Question Zero: Why Responsible AI Begins Before AI Adoption. AI Policy Exchange Forum (AIPEX). https://doi.org/10.63439/WCEZ7337
Dignum, V., Carli, R., Ericson, P., Titareva, T., & Tucker, J. (2025). AI First to Purpose First: Rethinking Europe’s AI Strategy. AI Policy Exchange Forum (AIPEX). https://doi.org/10.63439/LPOU6506
Mårell-Olsson E., Titareva T. (2026). Didactics before tools: Redesigning teaching and assessment in the age of generative AI. AI Policy Exchange Forum (AIPEX). https://doi.org/10.63439/FQCP2976
Leave Your Feedback about the Question Zero Tool
This is a living document. We invite suggestions on how the tool can be updated or refined.
You can share your thoughts by contacting Tatjana Titareva at tatjana.titareva@umu.se or by filling in the form below.