• Posted 13-Apr-2021

UNIVERSITY OF NICOSIA: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: ETHICS AND SOCIETY IN A TECHNOLOGICALLY FUSED WORLD - Call for Papers

In line with the continuous efforts of promoting a multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder effort in addressing ethical, policy- and research-related questions, the Cyprus National Bioethics Committee (CNBC), in partnership with the Artificial Intelligence Lab (AILab) and the Department of Computer Science at the University of Nicosia, the Office of the Senior Vice-Rector at the University of Nicosia and the European Commission Representation in Cyprus organise a two-day, high-level research conference on the topic of “Artificial Intelligence: Ethics and Society in a Technologically Fused World”.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) today plays a major role in the way we conduct research, in the way we draft policy at all levels and industries, and in the way we function in daily life.

Simple routinised activities are easily converted into algorithms, embedded in our social ‘interface’ and overall social infrastructure, and the recent and ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 have further allowed and encouraged additional AI-driven platforms and techniques, in order to minimise social interaction throughout these uncertain times.

Despite the long list of benefits for the use of AI and its impact on society, some ethical debates persist. Concerns and other issues are constantly raised regarding the data we are exposed to and the way we understand, interpret, share, and reproduce information. This avertedly shapes policy, often dismissing ethical questions on bias, disinformation, the social and psychological impact, as well as the implications for how machines and software interact with humans in the 21st century

The two-day conference is scheduled to take place on 5-6 November 2021 at the University of Nicosia. Only a multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder effort can find the best ways to address these concerns, including experts and academics of various disciplines, such as AI, computer science and engineering, ethics, philosophy, economics, medicine, politics, psychology, sociology, law, and history. As such, we invite experts, academics, and researchers to contribute to a selected theme and participate in our conference.

A selection of successful paper submissions will potentially be published in a collective volume on AI, Ethics and Technology with a selected academic publisher following the conference.

Topic areas

• Potential topic areas are outlined in the following non-exhaustive list:
• Theories of AI & Ethics
• AI impact on society and workforce
• Building ethical AI systems
• Value alignment
• Cybersecurity, data privacy, and the ethics of information reproduction

Legal and moral questions over the use of AI technologies

The role of AI technology in the wake of fake news

• Security Studies and AI in defence, policy, and/or warfare
• The use of AI technology in medicine and the ethical inquiries behind it
• Sustainable development and the ethical application of AI
• Transparency, Corruption, and AI

Submission Guidelines

Submitted papers should adopt a scientific approach to address any questions related to the above topics. Moreover, they should clearly establish the research contribution, its relevance, and its relation to prior research. All submissions must be made in an appropriate academic and conference-style format, under the specified guidelines and limitations:

• Both abstracts and completed draft papers are welcome during the 1st stage (consult the timeline below);
• You may submit one abstract/paper per topic area and you may not submit more than one abstract/paper for the same topic area. Acceptable file formats in .doc (MS Word) and .pdf;
• Completed papers already published elsewhere will not be accepted;
• An appropriate and consistent referencing system should be used. No restriction is applied under the referencing system, provided that sources are cited throughout. You may use any of the recognised referencing systems (AAAI, IEEE, Harvard variations, Chicago, etc) as in any other academic document;
• Abstracts should be between 300 to 500 words, excluding references. All sources used may be cited in your work. Approved abstract submissions will be informed accordingly for the submission of the final draft paper;
• Draft papers should be between 3,000 to 6,000 words for the sciences and data-driven research, and 6,000 to 8,000 words for the social sciences;
• All documents should include up to 6 selected keywords, a short biographical note (about 50 words) and affiliation of each author;
• We will take into consideration proposals for panels. However, papers are considered on an individual basis and panel paper submissions may be split up.
• Abstracts will be reviewed by the Conference Committee and a decision will be announced at the end of May 2021.

The Conference Organising Committee includes members that are experts in all the relevant areas, to ensure appropriate review of papers.

Timeline of Deadlines

• 2 April 2021: Call for Papers
• 12 May 2021: Abstract and/or paper submission due
• 26 May 2021: Approval of abstract and/or paper announcement (1st stage)*
• 18 August 2021: Final approval of completed draft papers (2nd stage)
• 24 September 2021: Programme released
• 5-6 November 2021: Conference takes place at the University of Nicosia

Inquiries & Submissions to Mr Petros Petrikkos: [email protected]

Source: University of Nicosia (https://bit.ly/3uKUV1q)