Day 1: November 8th | Day 2: November 9th | Day 3: November 10th

Day 1: Setting the Stage – Building a Shared Understanding

November 8th, 2017

Artificial intelligence (AI) and inclusion mean different things to different people. In order to foster productive discussions throughout the symposium and set the stage for future collaboration and action, the objective of the first day is to encourage participants to develop a shared understanding of the complex concepts of AI and inclusion across disciplinary, geographic, cultural and other relevant contexts. By the end of the day, the participants should arrive – in an inclusive and innovative manner – upon a deeper understanding of relevant terminologies, concepts, and core issues at the intersection of AI and inclusion that can inform future work and action.

12.00 – 13.00 Check-in and Registration
13.00 – 13.15 Welcome and Opening Remarks
13.15 – 13.45 Interactive Opening Session: Exploring Connection Points, Definitions, Challenges, And Opportunities for AI and Inclusion

Utilizing pre-meeting survey inputs from participants, the symposium will begin with an interactive exercise to establish a shared knowledge infrastructure both in terms of possible connection points among the participants as well as core themes and issues related to AI and inclusion for further exploration during the event. The session will be informed by insights from other initiatives that take place around the globe.
13.45 – 15.30 Coming to Common Understandings of AI & Inclusion

  • Keynote #1: AI and the Building of a More Inclusive Society

The first keynote will provide an overview of the history, current state of play, and future trajectory of Artificial Intelligence and introduce core issues, challenges, and opportunities related to the design and application of AI systems with an eye towards the building of a more inclusive society from a technical perspective. Respondents will share different perspectives, thoughts, and experiences in reaction to the presentation.

  • Keynote #2: Inclusion in the Age of AIThe second keynote is complementary to the first one by expanding on the notion of inclusion from a non-technical perspective and contextualize AI in its human, economic, and cultural context. It will provide outline some of the core questions and themes that emerge from an inclusion perspective as AI-based technologies start to play an increasingly important in many different contexts. Respondents will comment on these observations, add perspectives, and help building bridges between the two keynotes.

 
15.30 – 16.00 Break
16.00 – 17.15 Deep Dive: Advancing Equality in the Global South

Building upon the keynote speeches and opening conversations, the symposium’s first deep dive zooms in on two central questions that emerge from the interplay between AI as a technical phenomenon and the question of inclusion: (1) To what extent do AI-based technologies have the potential to exacerbate existing inequalities or create new ones, and how can AI technologies be designed, shaped, and used to advance equality at the country, population, and individual levels? (2) Specifically, how can the transformative potential of AI for the social good be used the advance equality in the Global South? Drawing upon the initial input collection, as well as the technological, business, academic and societal perspectives present at the symposium, participants are encouraged to discuss opportunities and challenges from global and cross-cultural perspectives.
17.15 – 17.45 Cluster Meeting #1
17.45 – 19.00  Poster Session / Exhibitions / Cocktail Reception


Day 2:

Identifying Opportunities, Challenges, and Examining Possible Approaches and Solutions

The second day of the symposium builds upon the conceptual foundation laid during the first day’s conversations and develops the agenda further in two specific directions. First, a set of plenary and breakout sessions will analyze some of the challenges and opportunities more closely when it comes to the design and use of AI for the social good with the objective of a more inclusive digital society in mind and heart. These issues will be examined from complementary perspectives by looking both at cross-cutting themes (such as data, algorithms, business models, etc.) as well as concrete areas of application of AI-based technologies (such as workplace, health, education, etc.), where inclusion challenges and opportunities emerge. Second, the day marks the transition from problem description and analysis towards exploring possible approaches, solutions, and trajectories how AI-powered technology might be embraced to build a more inclusive social ecosystem.

09.00 – 09.30 Welcome Back and Introduction to Day 2: Bridging AI & Inclusion

Participants consolidate and synthesize Day 1 progress; the session is intended to prepare specific topics and subtopics for Day 2 discussions.
09.30 – 10.30 Deep Dive: Data and Economic Inclusion

Moderated Plenary

When considering the role of AI and how it shapes our individual lives and the future of society at large from an inclusion perspective, the importance of data becomes visible very quickly. This session will unpack the different roles data plays in this context and examines a rich set of analytically distinct, but interrelated questions. The plenary session will cover issues such as the creation of more inclusive training (“input”) data for AI systems and associated privacy, security, and other governance challenges, and address meta-questions such as how (“output”) data can be used to assess and evaluate the performance of AI-based systems from an inclusion angle (e.g., in terms of their impact on economic development, overall welfare, well-being, etc.).
10.30 – 11.00 Break
11.00 – 12.15 Breakouts: Drivers and Forces at Play

Parallel Breakout Sessions: Round 1

Gradually broadening the perspective from a focus on “data” to additional key drivers and forces that shape the interplay between the concepts of AI and inclusion, a series of parallel breakout sessions will examine key cross-cutting areas and themes where AI is expected to pose risks from an inclusion perspective, or where it has the potential to close existing gaps. Each breakout group is asked to explore the drivers and levelers of AI and Inclusion along one of the following dimensions:

  • Breakout 1 – User / Behavioral Expectations: How do we configure the relationship between user expectations and the design of AI technologies? Are users’ growing expectations of personalized and convenient technologies driving the design of AI technologies, or vice versa? What are the implications from an inclusion perspective?
  • Breakout 2 – Algorithms and Design: Implicit biases that are being built into algorithms are perpetuating existing social stereotypes through AI technologies that depend on them. How do we identify such implicit biases, build awareness, and design inclusive algorithms? How can we use algorithms to overcome social inequities?
  • Breakout 3 – Data and Infrastructure: As discussed earlier in the day, data’s role in the development of AI technologies have transformed the ways that data is collected and valued, as well as the infrastructure that is required to support these new practices. What are ways in which data and infrastructure drive social exclusion, and how can we level them in a way to propel inclusion?
  • Breakout 4 – Business Models: AI technologies are driving innovation in traditional business models, and vice versa. What are some ways that AI technologies have disrupted traditional markets and opened up spaces for new business models? What are possible consequences in terms of inclusion along its various dimensions and manifestations?
  • Breakout 5 – Law and Governance: What are legal safeguards and other governance approaches to ensure that AI technologies do not exacerbate existing inequalities or create new gaps and divides? What are the risks for the legal system itself at a moment in time where some components of judicial and governance systems are themselves embraced by AI (e.g. sentencing, predictive policing)?

 
12.15 – 13.00 Report Back

Moderated Exercise

The breakout group moderators will share the 2-3 key findings from their sessions with the plenary and contributed, collectively, towards a “heat map” that identifies key challenges and opportunities in each of the subject areas above. The “heat map” will inform the conversation in the second round of breakouts in the afternoon, which will focus on specific application and impact areas.
13.00 – 14.00 Lunch
14.00 – 15.15 Breakouts: Application and Impact Areas

Parallel Breakout Sessions: Round 2

Informed by the conversations about cross-sectional challenges and opportunities when it comes to the design and application of AI systems and their roles in building a more inclusive society, the afternoon breakouts change perspective and focus on specific areas of application and impact. Participants will gather in small groups to discuss AI and Inclusion issues in the following contexts:

  • Breakout 1 – Shifting of Industries and Workplaces:AI technologies are disrupting traditional forms of labor and workspaces around the world, albeit with disproportionate impacts on different populations. How do we contextualize the future of work in relation to the development of AI and automation, especially with its impact on more precarious forms of labor?
  • Breakout 2 – Health and Wellbeing:  How are AI technologies being used – or could be used in the future – to complement traditional forms of caregiving in the health industry? What areas (e.g. insurance, diagnosis) are being most impacted, and how do these developments limit or expand access to healthcare across populations? What can we learn across cultures and geographies?
  • Breakout 3 – Education and Learning: From interactive machine tutors to performance trackers, to virtual reality labs, AI technologies are being leveraged to support students learning, and assist teachers in the classroom, and parents at home. How do we measure the impact of such technologies in education and learning, especially in the context of existing digital divides and participation gaps? Can these technologies expand the access to and increase the quality of education? How would students and teachers from different socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities, interact differently with AI tools? What are the barriers that schools and universities confront for deploying AI technologies?
  • Breakout 4 – Social Inclusion: How do we ensure that AI technologies promote the social inclusion of underrepresented populations – either directly or indirectly? Where are the key opportunities to leverage AI for the social good? What are the main pitfalls that we need to avoid?
  • Breakout 5 – Humanitarian Crisis Prevention and Mitigation: How can AI be used to prevent future events or mitigate the impacts of past events that threaten the health, safety, or well-being of a community or large group of people? What can be learned from initial case studies from different geographies and sectors? What are the key opportunities for collaboration, what are the main roadblocks and challenges?
15.15 – 16.00 Cluster Meeting #2
16.00 – 16.30 Break
16.30 – 17.45 Possible Approaches and Solutions: Ideas, Case Studies, and Prototypes

Flash Updates, Project Presentations, and Small Group Discussions

Case study presenters will share concrete examples of how AI systems and related technologies can be used for the social good and to the benefit of all members of society. Inspired by these examples, and informed by the discussions during the preceding sessions, participants are invited to pitch, develop, or present their own ideas, case studies, and – where available – prototypes of tools that have the potential to contribute to the building of a fairer and more inclusive society.
17.45 – 18.00 Short Break
18.00 – 20.00 Public Event (Optional): Life of Tomorrow

Keynote and Panel Discussion

Keynote Speaker and/or another format (artist who offers alternative way to visualize / understand futuristic nature of these two interlinking topics — help participants consider interesting or alternative ways to approach next day’s plans.  2-3 Discussants will report back from the Event and will engage in a panel conversation with the keynote speaker.

 

Day 3:

Action – Areas for Research, Education, and Interface Building

The concluding day of the symposium seeks to translate the insights and learnings from the previous days – leveraging the newly formed connections among the participants – into “action”, which can take different forms and shapes such as a roadmap for future research on AI and Inclusion, educational initiatives and interventions, awareness building, tool or interface building, transnational collaboration, and much more. The action items will also build upon ideas that have emerged in small group conversations (“cluster meetings”) throughout the symposium and will be documented and shared  in various media formats for post-symposium follow-ups and collaborations.

09.00 – 10.00 Food For Thought Breakfasts
10.00 – 11.15 Intervention Points and Opportunities for Collaboration

Moderated Discussion

In this opening, plenary session of the last day, participants are invited to identify existing and future intervention points, convenings, initiatives and other relevant opportunities for collaboration across disciplines, sectors, geographies, etc. as we seek to work together to build a more inclusive digitally connected and AI-empowered society.
11.15 – 12.30 Cluster Meeting #3
12.30 – 13.00 Report Back from Cluster Meetings
13.00 – 13.15 Final Remarks / Farewell
13.15 – 14.00 Lunch
14.00 – 17.00 NoC Closed Meeting

This afternoon session, which is for NoC participants only, will provide an opportunity to discuss the overall strategy and roadmap of the network to reflect on the event, and agree on the role of the NoC in the AI governance and ethics debate going forward.