Ethics on the ground: from principles to practice

Abstract

Surveys of public attitudes show that people believe it is possible to design ethical AI. However the everyday professional development context can offer minimal space for ethical reflection or oversight, creating a significant gap between public expectations and the performance of ethics in practice. This 2-part workshop includes an offsite visit to Telefónica Innovation Alpha and uses storytelling and theatre methods to examine how and where ethical reflection happens on the ground. It will explore the gaps in expectations and identify alternative approaches to more effective ethical performance. Bringing social scientists, data scientists, designers, civic rights activists and ethics consultants together to focus on AI/ML in the health context, it will foster critical and creative activities that will bring to the surface the structural, disciplinary, social and epistemological challenges to effective ethical performance in practice. Participants will explore and enact where, when and how meaningful interventions can happen.