Week for Good Artificial Intelligence #4GoodAI

DATE:Monday, October 12, 2020 – Friday, October 16, 2020
VENUE:Online - Virtual

Within the scope of our project ADA (named after Ada Lovelace, first programmer) we bridge the divide between school classrooms in Austria and the so-called ivory towers of academia.

Between 12 and 16 October 2020, the Faculty of Informatics of TU Wien is hosting a week of virtual activities for school classes in Austria under the theme “For Good Artificial Intelligence” or better yet: #4GoodAI.

The aim of the Week 4GoodAI, is to raise awareness about the need for the development of human-centred AI and its potential for making our lives better. We, the research community, as well as the decision-makers, have the responsibility to work towards this goal of AI for all. The recognition of the importance of the topic of GoodAI is visible by its inclusion on the agenda of every major international research conference concerned with AI, automated reasoning or decision-making. As a project partner of the pan-European AI4EU project, funded with €20 million connecting 79 partners from 21 countries, we work together to position the European Union as a world leader in the governance of the artificial intelligence respecting human values. Last but not least, as initiators of the initiative behind the Vienna Manifesto for Digital Humanism, we strive for analysis of the complex interplay of technology and humankind, for a better society and life, fully respecting universal human rights. The authors of the Manifesto among whom are Edward A. Lee (UC Berkeley, USA), Helga Nowotny (Chair of the ERA Council Forum Austria, Former President of the ERC) and Moshe Vardi (Rice University) to mention a few, recognize the need to recognize our responsibility to shape technologies in accordance with human values and needs.

AI 4 Good and 4 All – Virtual activities for pupils and teachers

That the majority of the population currently have little confidence in dealing with AI is an alarm signal. Activities range from virtual programming sessions (Scratch, Processing), live lectures (History of AI, AI and databases), workshops with women in IT as female role models, to CS unplugged analogous activities or introduction of LEGOs.

Lectures by our renowned researchers on topics of artificial intelligence to webinars introducing school classes to programming in Scratch, LEGOs, or without using digital technology (CS Unplugged), are only half of the week’s program. The second pillar of the activities in the framework of the Week #4GoodAI deals with the topic of equal opportunities in computer science and STEM fields in general. A virtual “SpeedMentoring” with female role models from research, administration, and business is supposed to break down stereotypes about women in computer science and IT and serve as career counselling for both female and male pupils. In particular, mentees will learn how IT can be combined with their interests (e.g. languages, biology, health or law) and how progressive digitization is opening up new job profiles and career prospects in areas that are not traditionally associated with IT. “The next generation will apply for jobs that did not even exist before they started their studies. We want to show the opportunities that arise from technical know-how and how exciting and diverse information technology is,” illustrates Asst.Prof. Martina Lindorfer, TU Wien and winner of the Hedy Lamarr Prize of the City of Vienna.

Virtual Hackathon 4GoodAI

The Week #4GoodAI is set to offer tips to the participants of the virtual Hackathon for good AI, which runs between 10 and 25 October 2020 under the topic “The Health of the Individual and Society”. In April 2020, the average life satisfaction of Europeans, which is consistently at the top of the scale of well-being, fell to its lowest level since 1980. Health and well-being for all age groups are at the heart of sustainable development, which has been broadly defined in the UN Agenda 2030 action plan for sustainable development for people, the planet and prosperity. The linking of healthcare and technology is one of the greatest success stories of our time. However, some of the old challenges (infectious diseases, nutrition) still exist, others are new (fake news, processed foods, sedentary lifestyles). “The potential of artificial intelligence for good, especially in the field of health and well-being, is groundbreaking. Health and well-being are humanity’s most important values, and that is why we have chosen these topics for this year’s Hackathon“, says Prof. Agata Ciabattoni, the head of the VCLA and Project ADA, organizer of the Hackathon 4GoodAI. The Hackathon is open to pupils between the 5th and 11th grade. Participants do not need any previous knowledge in programming to participate in this Hackathon. As assistance, experts from different areas will give advice, tricks, information and learning materials for the Hackathon 4GoodAI in recorded two-minute explanatory videos #How2Hack. The deadline for the submission of solutions to the programming task is November 25, 2020. The best teams will be awarded cash prizes from the 4000 EUR fund.

ADA – Algorithmen Denken Anders

Digital skills like programming, which used to be considered a specialization, are now as fundamental as reading or writing. But as we enter a world that is becoming augmented by artificial intelligence (AI), our human qualities such as creativity, empathy and problem solving are more important than ever. You need both computational thinking and creativity to apply this digital language to real problems and to invent and build new things.

The Week 4GoodAI is organized by the project ADA (Algorithms Thinking Different) in cooperation with the Faculty of Computer Science of TU Wien, Informatik Austria, the OCG, eEducation Austria, the EIS Education Studios of the BMB and Future Learning Lab. The cooperation partners of week 4GoodAI are also Digital City Wien, the Vienna Cyber-Security and Privacy Research Center, and Verein FIT Sprungbrett. The ADA project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK).

Programme

The programme of the Week #4GoodAI is published here

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