J-Fall 2021: Saee Kamat – Will the Rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) mark the Fall of Society?

AI is having profound impacts on society. While business organizations are heavily investing in ML and Robotics to reap competitive financial returns, Governments are funding high-cost AI R&D programs to uplift societies through technological breakthroughs. While the benefits remain countless, it becomes extremely important to evaluate AI’s overall impact on mankind and society. While Elon Musk claims that AI is a risk to society, late Stephen Hawking believed that AI could be the worst event in the history of civilization. How can we ensure that data and algorithms that build AI-based decisions are free from bias? What are the responsibilities of developers and architects towards society while building AI solutions? AI could widen inequality of opportunities if access is unfairly distributed across society. This session aims to propose a path forward to ensure that the goals of AI and society are well-aligned.