The new joint ACM/IEEE group met recently via conference calls to explore the idea of proposing a session at the 2018 RightsCon in Toronto on a topic of mutual interest to the two organizations’ ethics and policy members. Your SIGAI members Simson Garfinkel, Sven Koenig, Nick Mattei, and Larry Medsker are participating in the group. Stuart Shapiro, Chair of ACM US Public Policy Council, is representing ACM. Members from IEE include John C. Havens, Executive Director of the IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems and Dr. Ansgar Koene, University of Nottingham and working group chair for IEEE Standard on Algorithm Bias Considerations.
The group meets again soon to propose a panel in the area of bias and algorithmic accountability. SIGAI members are welcome to nominate panel members and volunteer. SIGAI members are also encouraged to contribute ideas that could focus the discussion and meet the following RightsCon goals:
– including speakers from a diverse range of backgrounds
– addressing an important challenge to human rights in the digital age
– engaging participants in a way that inspires real-world outcomes
(e.g., new policy approaches and innovative technology solutions)
– introducing new voices, new concepts, and fresh take on an issue
– having the potential to encourage cross-sector collaborations
– using an innovative format to present the idea and generate outcomes
The call for proposals mentions “Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and Algorithmic Accountability” as one of their program “buckets”. RightsCon is accepting presentation proposals until November 24, 2017. Sessions will have 16 program buckets, which cover topics including Digital Security and Encryption, Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Algorithmic Accountability, Misinformation, Journalism, and the Future of Online Media.
Computing Community Consortium
On October 23-24, 2017, the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) will hold the Computing Research: Addressing National Priorities and Societal Needs Symposium to address the current and future contribution of computing and its role in issues of societal needs.
Computing Community Consortium says it “has hosted dozens of research visioning workshops to imagine, discuss, and debate the future of computing and its role in addressing societal needs. The second CCC Computing Research symposium draws these topics into a program designed to illuminate current and future trends in computing and the potential for computing to address national challenges.”
You may also want to check out the CCC Blog at http://www.cccblog.org/ for policy issues of common interest for SIGAI members.