EcAI 2024: Ecology of AI Workshop at HHAI 2024 HHAI 2024 Malmö, Sweden, June 10-11, 2024 |
Conference website | https://sites.google.com/view/ecai2024/home |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ecai20240 |
Abstract registration deadline | April 17, 2024 |
Submission deadline | April 17, 2024 |
Pratyusha Kalluri of the Radical AI Network has proposed that asking whether AI is good or fair is not the right question for understanding the impacts of AI [1]. We have to look at power. More specifically, we have to look at how AI impacts power relationships that preserve inequality within our society in very real and material terms, for example, through the vehicle of industrialised racial capitalism.
One can consider the meta-ethical question of goodness or badness in many different ways, but the project of "ethical AI" often becomes conflated with specific ideas of morality, shifting the conversation toward the cultural arena. We can see evidence of this through the abstraction of ethics in research (e.g. lacking specific consideration of specific harms), based primarily on White, Western notions of harm, focusing on “single issue” conversations of equity (rather than global and historical power asymmetries) and mitigated through mathematical means [2].
Having a frank discussion, with multiple, diverse stakeholders, in which money, power and influence are part of the discussion of potential harm and benefit of AI is one of the aims of this workshop.
To be able to consider the broader, world-systems thinking around harm and benefit, in the short-, medium- and long-term, we propose a frame of Ecology of Artificial Intelligence. This approach will allow us to consider the impact of AI technology on organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems and the biosphere (good and bad, and everything in between).
[1] Kalluri P. Don’t ask if artificial intelligence is good or fair, ask how it shifts power. Nature. 7 July 2020.
[2] Birhane A, Ruane E, Laurent T, S. Brown M, Flowers J, Ventresque A, L. Dancy C. The forgotten margins of AI ethics. In2022 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency, 2022 Jun
Submission Guidelines
Selection of participants and presentations will be based on refereed submissions. We invite authors to submit a short paper [maximum 8 pages], preferably on their own previous or current work in AI, that considers a wide scope of potential impacts of this work, direct and indirect beneficiaries, projected into the future. We ask participants, to the best of their ability, to consider longer-term impacts, and existing or projected power relationships that make certain consequences more likely (good or bad, and everything in between). The purpose of this statement is to help spark discussion and explore the questions that may assist AI researchers to broaden their view on potential impacts of their work. Researchers, practitioners, or policy makers in academia or industry who have an interest in these areas are invited to submit papers up to 8 pages (not including references) in the 1- column CEUR format (Overleaf template).
Submissions are single-blind reviewed; i.e., submissions must include the author’s names and affiliation. The workshop's organizing and program committees will review the submissions and accepted papers will be presented at the workshop. We ask that at least one of the authors of each accepted position paper attends the workshop. Presenting authors must register for the workshop and at least one full day of the conference.
Since this workshop will be held in person and virtually (hybrid) which reduces visa or travel-related burdens, we aim to have global and diverse participation. With an effort towards equitable conversations, we welcome participation from under-represented perspectives and communities in AI (e.g., lessons from the Global South, civil liberties and human rights perspectives, etc.)
If there is sufficient interest, we can archive (with an opt-out option) all HHAI 2023 workshop contributions, and summaries of workshops and tutorials as a combined CEUR Workshop Proceeding.
List of Topics
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The impact of AI on:
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non-normative bodies and identities
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oppressed and/or under-served populations
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communication and interaction between groups
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the development of communities and infrastructures
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the balance of ecosystems and resources
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the climate, the planet context
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Short-, medium- and long-term beneficiaries of AI
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The potential of AI to shape or preserve existing power relationships
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AI Ethics (Framework, Principles, and Guidelines), education, and awareness
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Explainable AI, self-explanation, self-criticism and the transparency problem
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Regulating AI-based systems: standards and certification
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Potential harm in AI-based systems, including in industrial processes, health, automotive systems, robotics, critical infrastructures, war, among others
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Criticisms around the inevitability of AI
Contact
All questions about submissions should be emailed to retno.larasati@open.ac.uk