The overarching question imparting urgency to this exploration is: Can U.S.-Russian contention in cyberspace cause the two nuclear superpowers to stumble into war? In considering this question we were constantly reminded of recent comments by a prominent U.S. arms control expert: At least as dangerous as the risk of an actual cyberattack, he observed, is cyber operations’ “blurring of the line between peace and war.” Or, as Nye wrote, “in the cyber realm, the difference between a weapon and a non-weapon may come down to a single line of code, or simply the intent of a computer program’s user.”
Heralded as one of the most transformative innovations of our lifetimes, artificial intelligence holds the potential to upend nearly every aspect of modern life. From facial recognition, to social media advertising, to autonomous vehicles, AI offers more efficient, richer, and easier lives for its users as it enables autonomous systems to solve problems and make decisions – all without human input. However, as much as AI represents a new frontier for technology, it also represents uncharted territory for public policy and human rights protection. In light of these advances, how should scientists and policymakers best balance novel uses for AI while also upholding needed ethical considerations?
Gretchen Greene, Technology and Public Purpose Project research fellow, and Hong Qu, the Research Director on the Council on the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence, will discuss their research on AI and governance from challenging the use of facial recognition, to mitigating consequences from biased training data sets, to working with local officials to ensure that the use of AI technology in public policy does not perpetuate historical inequities. They will also share stories of their professional paths and answer student questions about pursuing research in AI and other emerging technologies.
