The Socially Disconnected Knowledge Paradox: Agentic Science, Power, Criminal Governance, and Societal Value
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The expansion of agentic artificial intelligence is transforming scientific discovery, yet growing scientific capabilities do not necessarily yield corresponding improvements in societal well-being. This article develops the Socially Disconnected Knowledge Paradox (SDKP) as a conceptual framework examining how the application and societal value of scientific knowledge depend on policy authority, legal entitlement, effective operational control, and institutional capacity. Integrating innovation studies, institutional economics, science policy, research impact assessment, and criminal-governance scholarship, SDKP introduces authority–control–value disconnection as its central construct. It distinguishes implementation disconnection, in which governance or resource constraints impede the use of scientifically supported knowledge, from distributional disconnection, in which an effective application does not deliver its intended breadth of benefits because of identifiable access or appropriation arrangements. The article formulates six conditional propositions, proposes an analytical protocol, and identifies directions for comparative research. Organized criminal interference is included only when evidence establishes its relevance to a particular scientific application. The proposed distinctions are conceptual and require independent empirical assessment.
DOI: 10.32351/rca.v11.462
Language: English
Subfield: Management of Technology and Innovation
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225829480