AI Ethics and Society is a network of researchers investigating the ethical and social implications of emerging technologies via a series of talks, reading groups, screenings and workshops.
Based at the University of Edinburgh, the student-led AI Ethics and Society group facilitates events exploring societal and ethical facets of artificial intelligence since 2018, with the kind support of the Edinburgh Futures Institute’s Events Grant and Student Research Grant, and the ECA RKEI Grant.
Our mission is to welcome audiences and collaborators of all backgrounds and career stages, from undergraduate and postgraduate to postdoctoral and senior researchers, sustaining partnerships across Social and Political Sciences, Informatics, Design, Law, Business, Art, and Architecture as well as people from outside the University, prioritising diversity and inclusion of marginalised and critical voices.
We encourage involvement and input from members, who often suggest topics and speakers for our regular talks and reading groups, in-person or online. Our online events attract international academic and public attendance from Europe, Canada, the US, and Africa, while our speakers are affiliated with centres of excellence, such as the City University of London, Terrence Higgins Trust, European Trade Union Institute, University of Groningen, Texas, Tufts, and Harvard.
We host the biannual conference Critical Perspectives on AI Ethics; the first, well-attended, edition was held virtually in October 2020, featuring four keynotes, in addition to numerous panel talks. Our annual Doctoral Colloquium offers a friendly in-person space for early career researchers to integrate in the local research culture, network, and receive feedback about methods. Our experience established a strong research base, well-reputed locally and globally, contributing to the open agenda of intersecting challenges and opportunities in light of data-driven AI innovation.
