AI Ethics Terminology – Toward an Interdisciplinary Glossary

When: Friday, February 16, 2024, 10:00 AM - 1:15 PM
Where: Empire House, Whitechapel Campus

Speaker: Elke Schwarz

Join us at QMUL for a workshop on "Definitions and Meaning in AI Ethics," moderated by Elke Schwarz, focusing on the critical examination of ethical principles in AI. This event invites an interdisciplinary dialogue to explore the nuances and practical implications of AI ethics.

Moderator: Elke Schwarz

Event Description:

Roundtable Brief

Our focus for the short workshop will be on the pitfalls of terminology as it travels across disciplines. The challenge of ill-aligned terminology is often present in fields that affect society at large and that therefore requires attention from different disciplines and stakeholders. In particular as the phrase “responsible AI” becomes a stand in for AI ethics, or ethical AI, we should have clarity as to what this means to the various stakeholders.

From my own experience attending a sandpit workshop on trustworthy autonomous robotic systems for defence, it became clear early on in the workshop that the term “trustworthy” has very different meanings, foundations, connotations and therefore implications for different participants from various disciplines. Building on this insight, and to make sure that the meaning of words can remain, well, meaningful, this workshop is intended to start a conversation across the disciplines. The loose aim for this endeavor might be a multi-disciplinary glossary of key terms, which might constitute of different sets of meaning, or it might comprise of finding new, better, more coherent terms to guide the development of AI in ethical ways. Or we might indeed end up realizing that some terminology needs much more careful treatment to be meaningful in practice.

Whether you are a student, researcher, or practitioner in the field, this workshop promises to be a thought-provoking exploration of one of the most pressing issues in modern technology.

Contact: Elona Shatri (e.shatri@qmul.ac.uk) for more information or to express interest in attending.