‘It is time to hit pause on AI.’ In March 2023, hundreds of artificial intelligence experts endorsed that message in an open letter to leaders of the world's most powerful technology firms. Future risks are too great, they wrote, and the current pace of AI innovation is too rapid. Yet this letter gets at least one important detail wrong; if innovation is to increase public benefit and not just shareholder value, it's critical that society gets a say in the direction of innovation, not just its speed.

This talk will highlight multiple emerging directions of AI in health and care sectors and beyond. Appraising these directions is vital for democratic decision making about who should benefit from innovation such as AI, and who should pay. Moreover, focussing policy and public debate on how AI is being directed shows us that AI is not inevitable; its directions are influenced by a range of people, organisations, and interests across society.

The talk will combine perspectives on policy with research on public values in artificial intelligence and insights from care professionals as they try to get to grips with robotic, automation, and AI systems. It will show that regulation must be matched by capability building and collective action if AI is to empower those who work and depend on care services and not exclude them.

Speaker Biography

Cian O’Donovan
University College London (UCL), United Kingdom

Dr Cian O'Donovan is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at University College London, United Kingdom. He studies the policies and processes of AI, robotics, and digital change using social science-led interdisciplinary approaches. Dr O’Donovan collaborates with people directly impacted by innovation, such as organisations, industry professionals, and service-users in care sectors. He is currently leading research that investigates what happens when innovation appears in sectors usually neglected by technology policy or Silicon Valley, asking questions such as who really benefits from innovation in said sectors; who is driving and steering change within them, and what are the impacts of innovative intervention for people and the planet? Dr O’Donovan has been steadfast in his work to ensure this research contributes to public engagement and movement building that can challenge powerful interests in order to achieve a more sustainable and fairer world. In 2014, he co-founded Uplift, Ireland's largest digital advocacy organisation for progressive social change.

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Cian O'Donovan is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at University College London, United Kingdom.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

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