APRIL 2021

AI Arts & Cultures Salon Workshop Series

As part of Dr. Jonathan Cohn collaboratory The AI Arts & Culture Salon we will host CUNY's Profesor Lev Manovich's workshop Why the Data Revolution Hasn’t Happened Yet.

Join us on Zoom: https://ualberta-ca.zoom.us/j/93790243773?pwd=cGhKTXFtWWpIWWJ0QnZsNlljMjdCdz09
Meeting ID: 937 90243773
Passcode: 289181

Find more information here.

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Canada’s Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence Public Awareness Working Group

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an important part of our future in Canada and we want to hear from your members.

The Government of Canada’s Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence Public Awareness Working Group, in partnership with the CIFAR and Algora Lab (University of Montreal), is launching Open Dialogue: Artificial Intelligence in Canada, a series of virtual workshops to better understand the public’s perceptions of AI.

The workshops will take place from March 30 to April 30, 2021.

What: Open Dialogue: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Canada (2.5 hour workshops)
When: March 30 to April 30, 2021
Where: Online via Zoom or by telephone
Who: Adults over the age of 18.
Register: opendialogueai.ca

The views and opinions gathered in these workshops will be included in a report by the Public Awareness Working Group and submitted to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. The report will be publicly available on the website of the Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence in summer 2021.

If you have any questions about this initiative, please contact the Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence Secretariat aicouncilsecretariat-secretariatconseilia@canada.ca.

10th Annual Allen Smith Symposium
Innovation and Equity: Technology, Ethics & The Future of LIS

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Safiya Noble, author of Algorithms of Oppression

When: Thursday, April 29, 2021 - 2 - 3 p.m. EST
Where: This event will stream via Zoom and is open to the public
How: Registrer here
Deadline: Please register by April 22

Dr. Safiya Noble is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Department of Information Studies. She is the co-founder and co-director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2). The keynote is moderated by Dr. Marie desJardins, Dean of the College of Organizational, Computational, and Information Sciences.

The Allen Smith Symposium is hosted by the Simmons University School of Library and Information Science, the College of Organizational, Computational, and Information Sciences.

AI4Society
News

AI4Society Dialogs

On March 22nd our sixth episode was premiered, Nidhi Hegde: Privacy, Ethics and AI. Visit the official site AI4Society Dialogues to hear this and our previous episodes.

What's coming - Episode Seven: Noah Castelo: Relating to robots
How people respond to artificial intelligence depends on their perceptions of whether or not AI is to be trusted, the context in which they encounter AI and, in the case of robots, how the AI looks. Dr. Noah Castelo, a behavioural scientist whose expertise and research into psychology and consumer behaviour are providing deeper insights into the question of how humans will relate to AI.
Release date: April 5th, 2021

Listen to all episodes on these platforms!

AI4Society Collaboratories

As we are wrapping up our first year of work, we are proud and excited about the nine fantastic initiatives we are supporting under our Collaboratory theme. On this year round we have 12 University of Alberta Professors leading their teams of national and international academics and students, making a group of more than 80 professionals that AI4Society funds on their areas of expertise.

Learn more about them here.

Wondering about hosting a Collaboratory with us?

Please refer to our information page, and don't hesitate to contact us for more information if you have a proposal for us!

Seed Grant Program - Results

We recently adjudicated the 'UofA/EPS Seed Grant' RFP, which funds $30K to 3 awardees; the funds made available through EPS, KIAS and the AI4Society Signature Area. The awards went to:·

Nidhi Hedge - Access to Justice Apps: A Tool to Support Accountable Policing?
Matthew Taylor - Human-in-the-loop software for improving latent fingerprint identification
Melissa Tremblay - Building a Partnership to Catalyze Police System Evolution

Congratulations Nidhi, Matthew and Melissa !

AI, Ethics and Society - Publication

IRIE, the official journal of the International Center for Information Ethics (ICIE) has published volume 29 and it is part 2 of the essays that came out of the AI, Ethics and Society conference that our friends from KIAS supported and the AI4IA conference that KIAS and AI4Society supported.

Find the editorial here.

Dialogue Review

On March 17th, 2021 in coordination with the Center for Digital Ethics and Policy (CDEP) at Loyola University Chicago and the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society in Berlin we host the the 3rd event in a series of ethics dialogues leading up to our April 19th-21st Symposium on Ethics in an Age of Smart Systems. In this event called Dialogue on Whistleblower Protections: Can organizations self-regulate? we featured Rita de Sousa Costa (TMT Associate at PLMJ, Portugal) Inês de Castro Ruivo (PLMJ TMT, Telecommunications, Media and Technology), and Tim Hannigan (University of Alberta Assistant Professor - Department of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Management).

Our friends from Ethically Aligned AI assisted to the event and wrote this insightful review.

Soon, we will release the videos of these three dialogues, stay tuned!

Grant Opportunities

Innovative Canadian Internet Project

In our research on digital funding we discovered that there's limited funding for groups working to promote a trusted internet. That's why we're funding these initiatives across the country.
In this initiative, we’ll be granting over $1 million to Canadian non-profits, charities, and researchers leading projects to improve Canada's internet - especially for projects that benefit northern, rural, and Indigenous communities, and students (K-12, and post-secondary).
You’ll find all the details here: https://cira.ca/grants and we’ve also shared a webinar to orient people to the application process. The application period will be open until April 14 at 2PM ET.

Here are the types of projects we will be funding:

Internet infrastructure
Digital literacy
Cybersecurity
Community leadership

CIHR: Health Research Training Platform Pilot

With the HRTP Pilot, CIHR will support the development of research leaders of tomorrow by equipping trainees and early career researchers (ECRs) with the experiences and skills needed to lead high-impact, interdisciplinary health research careers in a rapidly evolving research landscape.
Funding pools for this opportunity include: AI, Public Health and Equity; Boys, Men and Masculinities; Girls and Women's Health and Wellness; Integrating Mental Health Services within Primary and Community Care; Stigma Reduction and Life Course Mental Wellness for LGBTQ/2S Populations.

Application deadline: April 21st, 2021

Who

Any UofAlberta community member (faculty, researcher, or student) interested in any and all aspects of Artificial Intelligence!

Why

To stay informed about AI-related funding opportunities and events (research grants, internships, competitions, ...)
To access AI4Society support for research and teaching initiatives
To profile your research and to collaborate with other community members, through our Forum.

How

Send an email with a brief description of your affiliation, interests, and activities related to artificial intelligence to ai4s@ualberta.ca.

Community

University of Alberta | Edmonton Police Service MOU

UofA and EPS have finalized the execution of the UA/EPS Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which is an overarching agreement that defines the spirit, intent, and scope of the partnership between the two institutions. Research projects still need to be individually defined and executed via a ‘research grant contract’ however the MOU facilitates that process. If anyone here is interested in working with EPS on a research project that is novel and relevant to both parties, please contact Brian Rector (brian.rector@edmontonpolice.ca) and/or Dan Jones (dan.jones@edmontonpolice.ca) to discuss.

IBM | SkillsBuild - tool

SkillsBuild is a free digital platform that gives every adult the opportunity to develop technology and professional skills regardless of their background, education, or life experiences.
Through SkillsBuilld you can assess your skills and abilities to find the best match to a career, find courses and credentials to advance and demonstrate your skills, join in group projects that complement your learning, access job boards when you earn badges.

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For information about
AI experts, and AI-related events and opportunities,
visit https://ai4society.ca