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The STS Program at HKS invites you for the latest installment of the Sciece & Democracy Lecture Series featuring Bill de Blasio, former Mayor of New York City. A discussion will follow with panelists Mike Firestone, City of Boston Chief of Policy and Strategic Planning; Sharad Goel, Professor of Public Policy, HKS; Ya-Wen Lei, Associate Professor of Sociology, Harvard University, and moderated by Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, HKS.
The STS Program at HKS invites you for the latest installment of the Sciece & Democracy Lecture Series featuring Bill de Blasio, former Mayor of New York City. A discussion will follow with panelists Mike Firestone, City of Boston Chief of Policy and Strategic Planning; Sharad Goel, Professor of Public Policy, HKS; Ya-Wen Lei, Associate Professor of Sociology, Harvard University, and moderated by Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, HKS.
There is no historical precedent for a technology with as profound ramifications as artificial intelligence being developed with so few checks and balances. In an age typified by information overload and polarized politics, the relative absence of a public discourse around AI is striking. We have a profound democracy deficit in this area, with little progress in developing oversight mechanisms, transparency and regulation. The complexity of the technology and of the issues it raises should not defeat our ability to determine schemas for ensuring it meets our needs, and not the other way around. Equally, the public good needs to be asserted in a realm dominated by private sector actors with little accountability. Nowhere is this more true than in our cities which are about to be inundated with a host of AI-related challenges, from the safety concerns regarding self-driving vehicles to the massive loss of employment likely from AI-enabled automation. As has been true all over the globe on huge challenges like inequality, racism and climate, cities will have to be the problem-solvers and the innovators. We need a democratic methodology for addressing AI and we need it immediately. If we don’t answer the question “Who decides?,” then matters will surely be decided about us, without us.
Visit the event page for more information and to register.
Contact: lauraflynn@hks.harvard.edu