Online seminar
Details
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the defining technology of the 21st century, enabling a productive analysis of the volumes of data generated by the digital transformation. As a result, AI both holds on one hand enormous economic potential and is a tool that can help to address societal challenges in a range of sectors. In recognition of these potentials, not only has a global race for technological leadership in AI begun, in which competing approaches collide. Globalization in the field of artificial intelligence is also increasingly problematized. As a result, strengthening digital sovereignty/ technological sovereignty and/or cyber sovereignty is being pursued as a political goal in the area of AI as well.
On the other hand, the frenzy of AI causes regulatory and ethical issues and could lead to major negative changes in society and liability. Such dual implications of AI applications and impacts has pushed us to balance between transparent and accountable AI and "opaque" AI, between "responsive" AI and "rogue" AI. This duality in the nature of AI brings about enormous challenges for legal systems and continuous debates on the relationship between technology and society.
At our online-event we will discuss with international experts both implications of this new sovereignty policy in the field of AI and the duality of AI. In the course of the event, not only existing AI framings are to be questioned and policy recommendations for action will be developed. At the same time, the exchange between China and Germany on AI related policy issues is to be strengthened.
To register, please use the registration platform of our AECAIR-Network. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Weise.
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Date and Time
27.11.2020, 08:50-11:30 (Central Europe Time, GMT+1)
27.11.2020, 15:50-18:30 Uhr am (Beijing Time, GMT+8)
Speakers
Prof. Dingding Chen, President of Intellisia;
Prof. Jennifer Lin, City University of Hong Kong, Greater Bay Area AI and Society Research Institute in Hong Kong;
Prof Maximilian Mayer (Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies, University of Bonn;
Prof. Philipp Staab, Humboldt University of Berlin;
Prof. Cuihong Cai, Fudan University;
Prof. Rogier Creemers, Leiden University;
Corinna Abele, GTAI, Shanghai;
Prof. Hans Uszkoreit, Founder and Chief Scientist of GIANCE Technologies and German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence;
Prof. Haya Shulman, ATHENE CENTER and Fraunhofer SIT in Darmstadt and Jerusalem;
Prof. Max Meng, Tsinghua University, The application of AI-technology in government governance in China;
Dr. Enrico Fels, Managing Director Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies;
Prof. Weien Duan, Director of Philosophy of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Social Science, Coordinate the Ethical Practice of AI through Multi-party Community/Association Building;
Matthias Schäfer, Chief Representative, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Shanghai
Program
Session I: Is digital sovereignty a solution? Rethinking global interdependence in AI and critical data infrastructures
Not just since the trade conflict between the USA and China, technological interdependencies were problematized. The debate about technological interdependence has gained new momentum due the Covid-19 pandemic. Public voices increasingly question not only the dependence on foreign supply of medical goods but also the imports of various critical technologies in general. China's political discourse has long emphasized the importance of technological sovereignty in fields like artificial intelligence as a key factor in the country's long-term development. In western countries, calls to strengthen “digital sovereignty” and autonomy are multiplying and are now introduced to the fields of artificial intelligence too. But is the notion of "sovereignty" a practical solution for AI applications? The implications remain unclear. The danger of rising techno-nationalism and harmful societal side effects need careful consideration. The problem of sovereign claims, intensifying geopolitics and the resulting in digital fragmentation shapes the future AI innovations and the platform economy globally. Applying the discourse of sovereignty to the field of AI invites critical reflections both in Europe and Asia about the usefulness and limits of such terminology. This panel aims at inspiring a search for potentially better alternatives to shape technological future that is both inclusive and fair.
Session II: The Duality Dilemma of AI Technology
The rapid progress and development of AI is prompting speculation about the applications of AI and their impacts on society. On the one hand, numerous applications in health care, finance, communications, the arts, etc. have brought some of the most effective and dramatic advances for people. On the other hand, the frenzy of AI causes regulatory and ethical issues and could lead to major negative changes in society and liability. Such dual implications of AI applications and impacts has pushed us to balance between transparent and accountable AI and "opaque" AI, between "responsive" AI and "rogue" AI. This duality in the nature of AI brings about enormous challenges for legal systems and continuous debates on the relationship between technology and society. Panelists will discuss the implications and possible remedies to the duality of AI technology.
Introduction on AECAIR
Asia-Europe Consortium for AI Research (AECAIR) is a platform, initiated by partners in Asia and Europe, including KAS Shanghai Office, Intellisia Institute in Guangzhou, Prof. Jennifer Lin (City University of Hong Kong, Greater Bay Area AI and Society Research Institute in Hong Kong), and Prof Maximilian Mayer (Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies, University of Bonn). This platform aims to offer a thinking space for social science research – across the Eurasian continent and beyond – in order to gather researchers, experts, and practitioners in the expanding field of AI aiming to channel their analysis regularly to policy makers. It aims at fostering and stimulating interdisciplinary collaborations as well as public conversations about the potentials and limits of AI.
