Lovelace-Hodgkin Symposium

I returned to academia from maternity leave in summer 2023. Not only was I struck by how much my small slice of the world had changed, but also, that discourse across society seemed now to be dominated by AI. In 2022 my son had been born with significant disabilities, and I remember wondering as I contemplated his future, how his health and social care might be impacted by AI.

It was during one of our many stays in hospital in those early days, that I listened to an episode of The Good Robot podcast, on gender, feminism, and technology, co-hosted by Dr Kerry McInerney, University of Cambridge. The episode discussed the rapid evolution of AI, likely positive impacts, and the potential magnification of inequality and exclusion of minority groups. Even in those stressful days, I wondered whether our ethical frameworks for building, using, and discussing AI were lagging far behind the technology itself.

Ciorsdaidh and her son Dominic

Dr Kerry McInerney was named one of 100 Brilliant Women in AI that same year, and I had the good fortune to hear her speak at The Cambridge Women in STEM Conference in October 2023. During the conference we discussed pioneers of computer technology such as Ada Lovelace. It was clear that only women of privilege had certain freedoms to pursue their goals at that time.

We also discussed lesser known but equally inspirational women in STEM, like Dorothy Hodgkin, who spent her life advocating for social equality and forged a stellar career in X-ray crystallography. She achieved all this whilst raising a family and overcoming the difficulties of her own disability.

The challenges and inequalities that still face women in STEM, and across society, were frequent topics of conversation and we also questioned how these might be affected by AI. Again, the question that came to my mind was about ethics, individual, institutional, and societal. What kind of AI do we want to generate, use, and discuss? This question remains – for all of us. 

How can I answer this question in all aspects of my own life, including in my professional life?

I believe that as educators we have a responsibility to equip our students with the tools to navigate an AI-augmented world, ethically. We can support students to think critically about AI, to know how to use these platforms effectively, while considering the possible inherent biases and inequalities involved. As students, as staff, as humans, it is important not simply to listen to voices that echo our own ideas and prejudices, but to hear from people who have different perspectives, experiences, and voices.

Can we begin an open, transparent, wide-ranging discussion around AI ethics and develop a framework for ethical AI within the university, impacting the way we learn and teach? I believe that we can and should, and I hope that the Lovelace-Hodgkin Symposium in AI Ethics will be part of such a discussion.

As a team, myself (Senior lecturer, Chemistry), Dr Lydia Bach (COSE EDI Officer) and Prof Ana Basiri (Director, Centre for Data Science and AI) are developing the Lovelace-Hodgkin Symposium to coincide with Ada Lovelace Day in October 2024. The event will be designed in partnership with student interns and aims to discuss the impacts of AI inequality on university life and society at large. Its overarching goal is to collaboratively construct a framework that promotes more equitable knowledge, development, and use of AI within academic institutions and broader societal contexts.

To accomplish this, the symposium will promote the sharing of expertise from professionals in AI, inclusion, and social policy. We will emphasise the importance of sharing the lived experiences of individuals from minority groups, providing a comprehensive perspective that combines theoretical knowledge with real-world insights. We will integrate accessibility throughout, and invite you to join the symposium, either in person or virtually, for a single session, the whole journey, or whatever suits your own schedule and interests. We can’t wait to welcome you! 

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First published: 22 May 2024