The release of ChatGPT has stirred worldwide enthusiasm as well as anxieties. It has triggered popular awareness of the far-reaching impact of the latest generative AI, which ranges from numerous beneficial uses to worrisome concerns for open democratic societies and the lives of their citizens. We are concerned about the enormous concentration of power, resources, and prioritization of future AI R&D directions in the hands of Big Tech as well as under the control of government bureaucracies.
We gathered in Vienna to identify possible responses to this global challenge and opportunities for meeting it through collective action such as policy recommendations.
The event was organized around four themes:
1. Generative AI, its power and shortcomings
2. The sociopolitical impact of AI
3. AI regulation and global governance
4. Addressing issues of scale and jurisdiction in AI governance and devising a joint policy statement for expanded future collaboration and advocacy.
You can find the entire program here
9.00 - 10.30 Introduction and Welcome: What Do We Want to Achieve?
Hannes Werthner (TU Wien)
Roger Berkowitz (Bard College)
Generative AI, its Power, Shortcomings, and Topics for Future Research
(Moderator: Wendy Hall, University of Southampton)
Artificial Intelligence: Past and Present
Moshe Vardi (Rice University)
Artificial Intelligence: Today and Tomorrow
Joseph Sifakis (Verimag Lab)
11.00 - 12.30 Generative AI (Continued)
13.30 - 15.00 The Sociopolitical Impact of AI, Part 1
(Moderator: Misha Glenny, IWM)
Automated Fake News
Allison Stanger (Middlebury College)
Geopolitical AI
Paul Timmers (Univ Oxford/KU Leuven)
Epistemic reasons why Democracy will Survive AI
Daniel Innerarity (EUI Florence)
15.30 - 17.00 The Sociopolitical Impact of AI, Part 2
(Moderator: Roger Berkowitz, Bard College)
A.I. and Education: a Multi-faceted Relation
Enrico Nardelli (Informatics Europe & Univ. Roma “Tor Vergata”)
A.I. and Deliberation
Colin Megill (Pol.is)
A.I. and Participation
Pablo Aragon (Wikimedia, UPF)
