“The time for analysing how AI is deployed -whom it affects, how it affects them, what are its broader social and economic impacts- is now.”
The COVID-19 crisis has already changed daily life in innumerable ways, and it will continue to have a significant impact as it shifts global opinion, politics, and approaches to combating pandemics and crises of all kinds. Among the many areas, its effects are being felt is in the field of technology, and in particular society’s attitudes toward the potential -and risks- of Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for tackling COVID-19.
The various uses of AI to manage pandemics, as well as the ethical challenges related to them, require multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder engagement as well as international collaboration on developing AI governance.
To this end, the TUM Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence has led the way in the creation of the Global AI Ethics Consortium (GAIEC), joining forces with academic institutions, research centers and distinguished members of academia worldwide in order to foster trust in data and technology, maximize the potential of AI while limiting its harms, help all the involved parties navigate current uncertainty and create ethical frameworks.
The newly founded Global AI Ethics Consortium (GAIEC) on Ethics and the Use of Data and Artificial Intelligence in the Fight Against COVID-19 and other Pandemics aims to:
- Support immediate needs for expertise related to the COVID-19 crisis and the emerging ethical questions related to the use of AI in managing the pandemic.
- Create a repository that includes avenues of communication for sharing and disseminating current research, new research opportunities, and past research findings.
- Coordinate internal funding and research initiatives to allow for maximum opportunities to pursue vital research related to health crises and the ethical use of AI.
- Discuss research findings and opportunities for new areas of collaboration.
Read the Statement of Purpose and find out more about the Global AI Ethics Consortium and its founding members: Christoph Lütge (TUM Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence, Technical University of Munich), Mark Findlay (Centre for AI and Data Governance, Law School, Singapore Management University), Jean-Gabriel Ganascia (LIP6-CNRS, Sorbonne Université), Ken Ito and Kan Hiroshi Suzuki (The University of Tokyo), Jeannie Marie Paterson (Centre for AI and Digital Ethics, University of Melbourne), Huw Price (Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge), Stefaan G. Verhulst (The GovLab, New York University), Adrian Weller (The Alan Turing Institute), and Yi Zeng (Research Center for AI Ethics and Safety, Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence).