Inclusivity in AI: Dr Susan Oman presents research at AI Summit in Paris

The AI Summit in Paris will begin in the Grand Palais on February 10th, with a forum bringing together many stakeholders worldwide including representatives of governments, businesses and civil society, researchers, artists and journalists.

The event features conferences, round tables and presentations on the opportunities and challenges of AI. Activities surrounding the AI Summit began on 30 January.

Dr Susan Oman, Senior Lecturer in Data, AI and Society and AI & In/equality Lead for the Centre for Machine Intelligence (CMI) at the University of ��«Ӱҵ, is attending this and several events surrounding the AI Summit.

Susan will present a paper called 'Reviewing Evidence as a Call to Action' from the , funded by and led by the . She was an invited member of the management committee for the Participatory AI , to convene two events, one online 30 January, and the other in Paris, 8 February.

Susan’s research investigates how data, AI, evidence, policy and practice work for the publics they claim to serve. She often does this in relation to specific social policy issues, like ‘well-being’ or ‘inequality’ or ‘digital’.

“Discussions about ‘responsible AI’ are happening between powerful people in powerful places here in Paris, and this is a good thing, but it’s not enough. It’s such a privilege to be sharing findings from a project to ensure these discussions consider the experiences and perspectives of less powerful people from less powerful places, too” says Dr Susan Oman.

“The EU AI Act came into force Sunday 2 February, which states to the ‘providers and deployers of AI systems’ that they must take responsibility for their staff’s understanding of ‘the context the AI systems are to be used in, and considering the persons or groups of persons on whom the AI systems are to be used’. Ensuring the voices of all, and especially those most affected by AI systems, reach those working in AI technologies and policy is crucial. The evidence I am presenting is a call to action to do this, and do this properly. The wider Public Voices project and the work of the is a step towards this that we are all proud of” she adds.

Dr Susan Oman’s attendance in Paris was supported by the the Centre for Machine Intelligence and , an independent organisation committed to ensuring advanced AI systems are guaranteed to operate safely and ethically, benefiting all of humanity.

I is a research project that aims to ensure that public voices are front and centre in artificial intelligence research, development and policy. It is funded by a £850,000 grant from UKRI/RAi UK, as part of its £36m investment in responsible and trustworthy AI.