Agenda
Welcome and introductory remarks: Antony Walker, Deputy CEO, techUK
Ministerial keynote: Chris Philp MP, Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
Plenary Session - Ethics in the tech industry: What have we learned from the past five years?
Plenary Session - Ethics in the tech industry: What have we learned from the past five years?
Plenary
Over the last five years a growing community of technologists, policy makers, academics and civil society advocates in the UK and around the world have been working to build frameworks, guidelines and tools to help us navigate the most complex ethical questions about how digital technology should be developed, deployed and used.
During this session panellists will take stock and reflect on the progress that has been made globally over the past five years; celebrating achievements, exploring lessons to be learnt, and examining areas for improvement. The panel will review the role of the digital ethics community, test its homework from the past five years and ask how it can continue to remain relevant, and effective given the issues and challenges ahead.
Speakers
Antony Walker
Lord Tim Clement-Jones CBE
Professor Sandra Wachter
Alex Towers
Professor Raja Chatila
Keynote: Are we ready to stop the next big lie? – Carl Miller, Research Director, Centre for the Analysis of Social Media, Demos
Keynote: Are we ready to stop the next big lie? – Carl Miller, Research Director, Centre for the Analysis of Social Media, Demos
Plenary
This keynote will explore the latest threats within misinformation and what the last few years have taught us about preventing false claims from taking global hold. It will comment on the impact of technologies such as sophisticated deepfakes and how these are affecting efforts to catch up with bad actors.
The speaker will focus on what further action need to be taken, and by whom, to help decision makers and the wider public in judging what is real and what is fake in a world of fast moving technology.
Speakers
Carl Miller
Challenging the narrative: Is ethics really a barrier in the global AI race?
Challenging the narrative: Is ethics really a barrier in the global AI race?
Plenary
In this fireside chat, Sue Daley will be talking to Professor Joanna Bryson to uncover some of the popular assumptions about AI competitiveness at a global scale. While it has become a common narrative that regions focusing on AI ethics, especially through regulation, will fail to come up with the greatest innovations, Professor Bryson will share research findings challenging this perspective. What does the evidence tell us about where inventions are being made and whether any one area of the world is really falling behind? And what are the risks of making competitiveness the top priority in national and regional policy-making?
Join us to explore these questions and more in a thought-provoking conversation on what ‘winning’ the AI race really looks like.
Speakers
Sue Daley
Professor Joanna Bryson
Building public trust and confidence in the use of digital ID
Building public trust and confidence in the use of digital ID
Breakout Sessions
Since the beginning of the global health crisis, the case for widespread use of digital identity solutions has never been stronger. We have seen some brilliant examples globally of how this technology is helping to rebuild economies and improve customers/citizens’ experience.
As this technology becomes more prevalent in our everyday lives, the panel will explore the increasing trend towards self-sovereign identity, enabling individuals to have control of how and with whom their data is shared. The session will also explore current public attitudes towards digital identity technologies and further steps that can be taken to drive better public awareness, trust and confidence in this technology. Finally, the panellists will discuss how this technology can promote social inclusion, including those individuals who are currently digitally excluded due to a lack of formal identification.
Speakers
Hannah Rutter
Kendrick Lee
Louise Maynard-Atem
Cornelius Saunders
Seema Khinda Johnson
Designing for the future: Privacy lightning sprint - powered by Clifford Chance
Designing for the future: Privacy lightning sprint - powered by Clifford Chance
Breakout Sessions
Transparency is a well-established principle of ethical AI, and a prominent feature in the wealth of emerging regulation and ethical AI principles and guidelines published over the last five years. Recently, its importance has become more pertinent as several pieces of proposed or adopted legislation and guidance reinforces a duty to clarify how data is being used and how it affects decision-making and outcomes, particularly in relation to children's data and online safety more broadly. Translating this into practice, at pace and scale can be a challenge for many organisations.
For transparency to be meaningful, it must be baked into the process from the beginning and entail a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder approach through the design and development lifecycle.
In this session, join regulatory and industry experts who have dealt with these questions and challenges in the real world, and hear them work through a design sprint with transparency at its heart.
Speakers
Ahmed Razek
Arnav Joshi
Nicole Kidney
Georgina Bourke
Digital Twins: The need for an ethical approach - powered by Sopra Steria
Digital Twins: The need for an ethical approach - powered by Sopra Steria
Breakout Sessions
Digital twins are accurate virtual representations of systems or objects in the natural or built environment. These highly complex models can use real-time data to show what is happening in the physical world and, perhaps more groundbreakingly, they can be used to simulate what may happen in the future.
This applies to anything from bridges, to engines and factories and has obvious implications for infrastructure planning. Plans to join up digital twins from across the country into a National Digital Twin by sharing data, therefore has huge potential to increase efficiency and preparedness, particular in light of the impact of climate change.
But the technology also introduces potential ethical challenges around national security and surveillance of citizens. In this panel discussion, experts will discuss how a national digital twin can be grounded in ethical principles, and share their positive vision with attendees
The session will begin with a fireside chat between Dr Kevin Macnish and Mark Enzer, followed by a panel discussion chaired by Dr Kevin Macnish.
Speakers
Mark Enzer OBE FREng
Kirstie Whitaker
Lisa Allen
Dr Kevin Macnish
Ruth Cookman
Plenary - Equipping police forces to use tech ethically
Plenary - Equipping police forces to use tech ethically
Plenary
Policing is one of the areas where the stakes of digital technology run highest. Getting it right could see police forces responsibly sharing information and coordinating efforts with each other and external agencies, it could enhance the safety of those most at risk of victimisation and ultimately help prevent some of the most violent and harmful crimes.
But getting it even slightly wrong can lead to charges of state surveillance and exacerbate biases against marginalised groups in society.
Police forces therefore need a high level of expertise in digital ethics and how this relates to their day-to-day operations from the use of data to the deployment of highly advanced technologies such as facial recognition.
In this session, panellists will assess the extent to which police forces already have such expertise, and if not, how to build it. We will also discuss what principles and approaches need to be applied, and who ultimately holds the responsibility for ethical use of technology by law enforcement agencies.
The session will begin with opening remarks by Professor Fraser Sampson, followed by a panel discussion chaired by Giles Herdale.
Speakers
Giles Herdale
Dr Marion Oswald
Lofred Madzou
Dr Kevin Macnish
Professor Fraser Sampson
How can we achieve the goal of a free and open internet?
How can we achieve the goal of a free and open internet?
Breakout Sessions
In this session, experts will assess the challenges and possibilities in realising some of the ambitions that fuelled the creation of the internet: democratising access to information and creating abundant opportunities to connect people at a global scale.
In particular we will focus on the human rights implications of shutdowns used to silence criticism or block citizen access to certain types of information. What role can international policy collaboration play in ensuring free and open internet access across the globe?
In addition, the panel will discuss how the tech industry itself can contribute to openness by allowing access to information and data for external researchers. Would a more open approach increase trust between industry, policymakers and civil society? And what are the opportunities that come with such openness in achieving the goal of a free and open internet?
Speakers
Antony Walker
Katy Minshall
Ruth Smeeth
Carl Gahnberg
Dr Wasim Ahmed
Revised expectations: Technology’s productivity promise and the future of work - powered by Sage
Revised expectations: Technology’s productivity promise and the future of work - powered by Sage
Breakout Sessions
For long, a common expectation has been that technology will enhance productivity dramatically, with both the economic benefits and workforce displacement challenges as a consequence. Yet, the past two years have increasingly revealed the vulnerabilities of workforce shortages in many non-digitised professions, suggesting it is way too soon to pronounce the end of essential ‘low-skilled’ jobs that underpin our society and economy.
In this session, panellists will explore whether technology’s promise to increase productivity is still on track, and ask the leading ethical questions about the future of work; How can we create tech-enabled workplaces that allow people to thrive? And how do we make sure the spoils of productivity gains are shared across society, including by preparing every citizen for the economy of the future through education and training?
Speakers
Anna Thomas
Matt Warman
Riham Satti
Aaron Harris
Dr Natasha McCarthy
‘Mutant algorithms’: the perfect political scapegoat?
‘Mutant algorithms’: the perfect political scapegoat?
Breakout Sessions
The role algorithms play in our lives has increased exponentially in a relatively short amount of time, and public awareness of them is catching up. From the ads we are shown and the social media accounts we are recommended, to our chances of getting a loan or our area having a greater policing presence, algorithms are ubiquitous.
Yet, they get most attention when they go wrong. Resources are misallocated, areas are overpoliced, families are wrongly accused of benefit fraud and student grades are moderated based on factors entirely out of their control. In many of these cases simply blaming a ‘mutant algorithm’ is the easiest option. But does the general lack of understanding of algorithms offer a cover for what should be attributed to poor political decision-making and wider systemic problems?
In this session, panellists will explore whether narratives that blame algorithms for political failures could create long-term damage to the public conversation on the benefits and risks of technology. Will it detract from the areas where algorithmic decision-making could be useful, or rather instil a healthy and necessary scepticism, enabling the public to engage critically with the modern world?
Speakers
Gavin Freeguard
Gillian Docherty OBE
Madhumita Murgia
Dr David Leslie
Hetan Shah
Plenary – Regulation, assurance, auditing: what role will different approaches to governance play in the future of trustworthy AI?
Plenary – Regulation, assurance, auditing: what role will different approaches to governance play in the future of trustworthy AI?
Plenary
Across governments, the tech industry and civil society, there is wide agreement that AI technologies have the potential to help us achieve incredible and positive outcomes while also posing new risks and challenges.
This session will explore the different, emerging approaches to regulation and governance and examine their effectiveness when it comes to building and deploying responsible technologies that people can trust. For example, can the tech industry provide assurance independently? Who would be considered trustworthy auditors? And can regulation enable AI to be used to its full potential while making sure citizens are protected from adverse consequences?
Speakers
Keynote: AI and climate change: Do we have to slow down development to slow down emissions? – Dr Sasha Luccioni, Researcher, Hugging Face
Keynote: AI and climate change: Do we have to slow down development to slow down emissions? – Dr Sasha Luccioni, Researcher, Hugging Face
Plenary
While people often split into polarising views on technology either saving us from climate disaster or contributing to it, the reality may be more nuanced. In this keynote, Dr Sasha Luccioni will explore how the development and use of artificial intelligence affects the environment. This includes research on how to calculate the carbon footprint of algorithms, as well as reflections on projects and initiatives which may provide some hope that AI can be utilised to benefit humans and the natural environment in the battle against climate change.
Ultimately, the question posed in this session will be what does the tech industry need to consider now for a chance of having a positive impact on the future? Do we need to impose limits to AI development to limit environmental impacts, or do we charge ahead in the hope AI will form part of the long-term solution?
Speakers
Dr Sasha Luccioni
Plenary - Looking to the future: Can technology be a trustworthy agent of positive change?
Plenary - Looking to the future: Can technology be a trustworthy agent of positive change?
Plenary
Reflecting on the insights from the Summit, this panel will look ahead to the next five years and ask whether the technology industry can earn the trust of the public, and be considered an agent of positive social change - and if so, what it will it take to get it right.
The digital ethics debate has matured significantly in the past five years; there is broader public awareness of challenging issues such as algorithmic biases and the potential adverse consequences of our online lives – yet we have also seen the transformative positive potential of technology, from accelerating the development of COVID-19 vaccines to allowing communities to connect and organise. Given the potential of technologies such as AI to be a real power for good, what will it take for them to prove trustworthy in the years ahead?
Panellists will explore this question as well as how we can ensure that all citizens are able to take full advantage of the benefits on offer. What kind of changes are required within the tech sector and in the policy landscape, and how can we ensure that the views of people of all backgrounds are considered as the role of technology expands into every part of our lives?
Speakers
Tabitha Goldstaub
Sue Daley
Dr Mike Goodwin
Brittany Smith
Darren Jones MP
Dr Chris Anagnostopoulos
Plenary - What does fiction tell us about our hopes and fears for technology?
Plenary - What does fiction tell us about our hopes and fears for technology?
Plenary
Science fiction can give us a unique insight into how we imagine the future of humanity, and often what we fear most for the generations to come. The frequency of references to dystopian futuristic fiction in political discourse shows us that it goes far beyond entertaining speculations about a far-away future: it influences how we want society to develop today.
In this session Tabitha Goldstaub will chair a thought provoking, unique conversation with world famous science fiction and academic authors exploring what science fiction visions of the future could tell us about the future of technology and what ethical questions these raise that the digital ethics community may, one day in the future, be asked to address.
Speakers
Tabitha Goldstaub
Professor Sarah Dillon
Ken MacLeod
Ted Chiang
