ethics

An interdisciplinary team of researchers has developed a blueprint for creating algorithms that more effectively incorporate ethical guidelines into artificial intelligence (AI) decision-making programs. The project was focused specifically on technologies in which humans interact with AI programs, such as virtual assistants or “carebots” used in healthcare settings.

People accept human nurses overruling patient autonomy and deciding on forced medication, but this trust does not extend to nursing robots.

‘Robotics is a source of economic growth in Europe, but at the same time it raises societal concerns’, says Anneli Roose of Robotics4EU, a Horizon 2020-project of the European Commission in this interview with Marco van der Hoeven at ERF 2022. Robotics4EU aims to discuss and adress these concerns, and bring stakeholders together. Among other things, they launched the commmunity Robospot.org  ‘Robots, and AI-powered robots, are the future, but we must talk about the socio-economic issues.’

This week the Council of Europe’s Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) will started its work on the AI Treaty. ALLAI co-founder Virginia Dignum was one of the speakers at the Inaugural Meeting of the CAI (High-Level Segment).

UNSW Engineering Professor Flora Salim has been honoured for her pioneering work in computing and machine learning by Women in AI, a global advocacy group for women in the artificial intelligence (AI) field.

From 28 to 30 June, the thirteenth edition of the European Robotics Forum (ERF) will take place in Rotterdam. With about a thousand visitors, this will be the largest robotics event in Europe, where a diverse group of participants, from industry and science to government and end users, will exchange views on a wide range of topics.

Facebook announced it is shutting down its Face Recognition system. People who’ve opted in will no longer be automatically recognized in photos and videos. As a consequence Facebook will delete more than a billion people’s individual facial recognition templates. The company stated it ‘needed to weigh the positive use cases for facial recognition against growing societal concerns, especially as regulators have yet to provide clear rules.’

Launched officially in January 2021 under the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme, Robotics4EU aims to take concrete steps to ensure a more widespread adoption of (AI-based) robots in the EU, particularly in the areas of Healthcare, Inspection and Maintenance of Infrastructure, Agri-Food, and Agile Production.

The Dutch government risks exacerbating racial discrimination through the continued use of unregulated algorithms in the public sector, Amnesty International said in a damning new analysis of the country’s childcare benefit scandal.

Government organisations around the world are adopting artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to help them achieve their public purpose or mission, but government employees are still concerned about the technology’s impact, according Gartner.