{"670296":{"#nid":"670296","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Major Grant Funds New AI Ethics Network That Will Emphasize Atlanta Voices","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAtlanta communities most vulnerable to bias and inequity in artificial intelligence (AI) are the focus of a new Atlanta-based ethics initiative being funded by a $1.3 million Mellon Foundation grant.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/aiai.network\/\u0022\u003EAtlanta Interdisciplinary Artificial Intelligence (AIAI) Network\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;brings together computing, humanities, and social justice researchers from Georgia Tech, Clark Atlanta University, Emory University, and community partner DataedX.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECarl DiSalvo, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ic.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech School of Interactive Computing\u003C\/a\u003E professor, is an AIAI co-principal investigator (co-PI). Andre Brock, an associate professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication serves on the network\u2019s steering committee.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDiSalvo said the idea for the AIAI Network had been in the works for years. However, the researchers now have the needed funding thanks to the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mellon.org\/\u0022\u003EMellon Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E. The grant allows the network to hire its first graduate students for the 2023-2024 academic year.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Mellon grant provides resources that we didn\u2019t have before,\u201d DiSalvo said. \u201cThere are students doing work on topics related to AI, computing, humanities, and social justice. They were difficult to fund, but now there\u2019s funding. This has a material impact on supporting graduate students and their research, and that impact is immediate.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Mellon award also provides seed money for the network to distribute grants to researchers in the Atlanta community. Brandeis Marshall, CEO of DataedX Group and co-PI, said the network wants to put Atlanta voices at the forefront of conversations about AI bias that aren\u2019t limited to the academic community.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe want people within Atlanta to connect with it, understand it, and be a part of it,\u201d Marshall said. \u201cWe want small businesses and nonprofits to feel like they have a place within these conversations about tech. It\u2019s for the everyday person, not just the academics.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ELauren Klein, PI and Emory associate professor of English, said the AIAI Network offers a humanistic lens on controversial AI issues. She said it was important that each PI or steering committee member be open to research contributions from the humanities.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe proposed technical solutions are not coming from people who have expertise in these issues of systemic racism, sexism, and structural oppression,\u201d Klein said. \u201cThe people who have expertise with these issues and how they surface in AI are humanities scholars. We want to bring humanities researchers to the table with technical researchers as equal partners.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EKlein said the Mellon Foundation recognized the AIAI Network\u2019s goals aligned with its recent commitment to funding projects centered on social justice.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt aligns with the work that the Mellon Foundation is trying to do,\u201d Klein said. \u201cThey\u2019ve made social justice the top-level concern of all projects they fund. They don\u2019t fund a lot of initiatives, so choosing to invest in us is meaningful.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the biggest challenges the network will face is steering the conversation away from the prominent AI \u201cdoomer\u201d narrative and toward existing AI bias. While the former is theorized, the latter continues to impact marginalized and minority communities.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s not just what we are going to do today, but also how what we\u2019re doing today will impact what we are trying to influence for tomorrow,\u201d Marshall said. \u201cHow can we dampen the AI hype and AI doom narratives and promote AI reality?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAIAI Network will take a multifaceted approach to promote a more realistic understand of AI. Some of the tactics the group will use include:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EHumanities-focused research projects\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EPublic design and education workshops\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EGuest speaker series\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003ECourses taught by principal investigators and steering committee members\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003ESeed grants for Atlanta researchers doing like-minded work\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re going to educate ourselves, those in the community, and those aspiring to be in this field on how we can be more solution based and solution oriented,\u201d Marshall said. \u201cThere are courses, research and research projects built on the framework of talking about AI bias in a productive way and not one focused on extreme stances around AI hype or AI doom.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWith support from philanthropic organizations like the Mellon Foundation, alumni, parents, friends, and corporations, Georgia Tech is securing the resources that will help achieve the most ambitious goals in the Institute\u0027s history as part of\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/transformingtomorrow.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ETransforming Tomorrow:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003EThe Campaign for Georgia Tech\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech is partnering with area universities to promote a more realistic understanding of AI for local communities Funded by a $1.3 million Mellon Foundation grant, the Atlanta Interdisciplinary Artificial Intelligence (AIAI) Network brings together researchers from multiple disciplines\u0026nbsp;to address bias and inequity in AI.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech is partnering with area universities to promote a more realistic understanding of AI for local communities through research, education, and outreach."}],"uid":"32045","created_gmt":"2023-10-09 16:47:06","changed_gmt":"2024-05-13 14:44:44","author":"Ben Snedeker","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-10-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-10-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"671982":{"id":"671982","type":"image","title":"CarlDiSalvo.jpeg","body":null,"created":"1696870157","gmt_created":"2023-10-09 16:49:17","changed":"1696870157","gmt_changed":"2023-10-09 16:49:17","alt":"Georgia Tech Professor of Interactive Computing Carl DiSalvo at his desk ","file":{"fid":"255157","name":"CarlDiSalvo.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/10\/09\/CarlDiSalvo.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/10\/09\/CarlDiSalvo.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":33101,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/10\/09\/CarlDiSalvo.jpeg?itok=60kntpKe"}}},"media_ids":["671982"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"193234","name":"Campaign Stories"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10199","name":"Daily Digest"},{"id":"171760","name":"Mellon Foundation"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENathan Deen, Communications Officer\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Interactive Computing\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}