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Can we really trust AI?
By Jordan Flemming. This is an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo News.
The University of Waterloo, in collaboration with the Perimeter Institute, hosted the TRuST Scholarly Network’s Conversations on Artificial Intelligence (AI), a dynamic and engaging discussion that delved into the societal impact of AI. The event was also supported by the Waterloo AI Institute, which is dedicated to developing human-centered AI for social good, fostering trust with industry partners, and scaling responsible solutions to enhance lives.
With the growing influence and evolution of AI and big data, the event explored the ethical considerations surrounding these technologies and addressed concerns about confidence in and potential risks associated with these technologies — especially when used in research and innovation.
The Trust in Research Undertaken in Science and Technology (TRuST) scholarly network brings together researchers and practitioners from across disciplines to improve communication with the public and build trust in science and technology. TRuST aims to understand the lack of trust in science and technology and to support ethically earning and sustaining trust in these domains.
The panel discussion was moderated by Jenn Smith, the engineering director and WAT site co-lead for Google Canada.
Panel participants were:
- Lai-Tze Fan, professor from Sociology and Legal Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Canada Research Chair in Technology and Social Change
- Makhan Virdi, a NASA researcher specializing in open science and AI in earth science
- Leah Morris, senior director, Velocity Program at Radical Ventures
- Anindya Sen, professor from Economics in the Faculty of Arts and associate director of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute
The discussion started by how society can go about trusting in AI when it is using both languages and the knowledge that humanity has built and cultivated for millennia.
Trust, in this context, involves a willingness to be vulnerable — acknowledging the unknown and the aspects of AI that remain not fully understood.
“It centres on open access and accessibility, particularly in relation to AI's black box nature — both in its creation and the content it delivers,” Fan said. “Achieving this requires increased accountability from developers and the industry, as well as improved governance and regulation. Users, too, need to be realistic about the technology's limitations.”
The conversation delved into the extremes of dismissing AI as mere random pattern generators or attributing human-like agency and harmful intent to it.
“I believe we have to be realistic about the promise and the perils of this new technology,” Virdi said. “And use it for the betterment of humankind, as we have used knowledge and language for the last so many centuries, balancing different extremes is very important in this discussion."
Read the rest of the article on Waterloo News.
Applications open for Employer Impact Awards
A message from Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE).
If you hire Waterloo co-op students, we encourage you to apply for a CEE Employer Impact Award. Back for its fifth year, these awards showcase
employers who provide excellent work experiences to our co-op students. The awards are an opportunity for employers to build awareness of their organization on campus.
Apply for an Employer Impact Award
Employer Impact Award recipients receive:
- A shareable, professional custom video;
- Story featured on the University of Waterloo’s website and social media;
- A conversation with Norah McRae, CEE associate provost and Ross Johnston, executive director of Co-operative Education;
- Recognition at the Awards ceremony;
- Prize package including a physical award;
- A suite of digital assets (including badges and images); and
- A plaque in Tatham Centre.
For more information about the awards criteria, prizing, and details about eligibility and submission requirements, please visit our CEE Employer Impact Awards website. Submissions close on March 28 at 4:30 p.m.
Integrating climate justice workshop for faculty coming up
A message from the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW).
Presented by the FAUW Climate Justice Working Group, in collaboration with the Centre for Teaching Excellence, on Monday, January 29 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., this workshop is designed for instructors who are curious about integrating climate justice into their courses.
Climate justice seeks to understand and address the injustices and inequities that arise from climate change. Courses across disciplines can find connections to climate justice as it is an intersectional and transdisciplinary field. Participants will engage in an experiential and reflective learning activity, adapted from Monocultures of the Mind, to explore reductionist and transdisciplinary thinking. Participants will also gain practical tools and resources to integrate climate justice into their courses with dedicated time to apply these tools to their own courses. Register now.
We will spend 15-minutes outdoors, so please dress for the weather.
Negotiating Nkudzedze; SLC goes to the dogs; other notes
The Department of Anthropology is hosting a Research Talk Guest Lecture by Dr. Dela Kuma, Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh, entitled "Negotiating “Nkudzedze” During Global Trade: Interpreting the Materiality of Indigenous Practices of Taste in Southeastern Ghana" on Wednesday, January 24.
"The 19th and 20th centuries in West Africa were characterized by the global demand and export of botanical commodities (e.g., palm oil, palm kernel oil, and cocoa), which were fulfilled by hinterland economies," says the talk's abstract. "However, hinterland people’s active participation and embodied practices are often silenced in the narratives of these encounters. In Amedeka, Southeastern Ghana, where this research is situated, local tastes and their related performances are conceptualized as “nkudzedze” – ‘pleasing to the eyes.’ This talk explores how the Amedeka conceptualization of taste directed daily life, the production and consumption of trade goods and serves as a radical act to decentralize research methodologies from the Eurowestern gaze and colonial epistemologies that continue to ‘otherize’ local and Indigenous communities."
Dr. Dela Kuma is an Assistant Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh. She specializes in African Archaeology, the archaeology of ‘legitimate’ trade and the Atlantic world, and Community-sustainable archaeology.
The guest lecture takes place in RCH 305 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 24.
Therapy dogs are making their return to the Student Life Centre as WUSA hosts the Dogs Against Cat Calling event today from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. in the Student Life Centre Multipurpose Room. The dogs will be there from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m., and afterwards, attendees can visit a nearby consent booth to learn more about consent culture. WUSA will also be distributing consent calendars at the event. The consent calendar is collaborative initiative between WUSA and the Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Office (SVPRO).
Speaking of consent culture, here's today's Consent Awareness Week Setting Boundaries Tip of the Day supplied by the Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Office (SVPRO):
Part of consent culture is setting boundaries and asking others what their boundaries are.
Boundaries are expectations and needs that help people feel safer and more comfortable in their relationships and interactions. There are multiple types of boundaries, two of which are Physical Boundaries and Material Boundaries.
Physical Boundaries are you comfort with physical touch and personal space. Material Boundaries are how you feel about your possessions, your stuff.
Examples of what to say when setting these boundaries:
- “I’m not a hugger.”
- “I like to stay 6 feet apart when chatting.”
- “I don’t mind lending out my books but please don’t lend them to anyone else. I am also cool if you crack the spine.”
- “I am happy to lend you my dress as long as you dry clean it before returning it.”
- “Maybe we could all label our food in the community fridge so no one eats someone else’s lunch!”
Stay tuned for more types of boundaries being discussed in the Daily Bulletin each day this week.