AI & Ethics
The 4th Workshop on
“Artificial Intelligence and Ethics”
(AI & ETHICS)
IS AI A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY?
INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP
Led by Professor John MacIntyre,
Co Editor-in-Chief, AI and Ethics
Short Bio: John MacIntyre is Visiting Professor of Artificial Intelligence at a number of universities around the world and was a senior leader at the University of Sunderland, from where he retired as Pro Vice Chancellor in 2023 after 30 years in Higher Education. He has published over 200 papers on applied artificial intelligence, engineering, computer science, management and leadership, and has supervised 12 PhDs and numerous postgraduate research masters projects. He was a Governor at East Durham College for eight years, and has served on numerous regional and national charities and other representative bodies, including several years as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Association of College and University Entrepreurs (NACUE) which promotes entrepreneurship including curriculum development and mentoring in both FE and HE institutions across the UK and in Europe. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Neural Computing & Applications, one of the world’s leading peer-reviewed journals in applied artificial intelligence, a role he has held since 1996, and is co-Editor-in-Chief for AI and Ethics, a peer-reviewed journal he established with his long-standing colleague Professor Larry Medsker of Geoge Washington University in the USA in 2020. AI and Ethics has rapidly become recognised as a leading publication for peer-review work on the ethical issues emerging from the developments in artificial intelligence and related technologies. John is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce (FRSA), a Member of the British Computer Society (MBCS), a member of the International Neural Network Society (MINNS), and a Chartered Engineeer (CEng).
Panel Members 
Professor Larry Medsker
Co Editor-in-Chief, AI and Ethics
Short Bio: Larry Medsker is presently Chair of the ACM US Technology Policy Committee, Research Professor of Physics at George Washington University (GWU) and at the University of Vermont. He is also Research Professor in the Human-Technology Collaboration Lab at GWU, and Founding Director of the university’s Master’s Program in Data Science. Medsker serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of AI and Ethics, Associate Editor of Neural Computing and Applications, and Policy Officer for ACM’s Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence (SIGAI). He is the author of four books and over 100 publications on neural networks and AI.
Professor Peter Smith
University of Sunderland, UK
Short Bio: Peter Smith is Emeritus Professor at the University of Sunderland, UK. He has written 300+ scholarly works including 6 books, numerous journal articles, book chapters and international conference papers. He has supervised 60+ PhD and Professional Doctorate candidates and examined 50+ doctoral candidates in the UK, Spain, Ireland, India and Hong Kong. He has a Fellow of the British Computer Society, Chartered Management Institute, Royal Society of Arts, the Royal Statistical Society and the Institute of Physics. He is also a Chartered engineer, Chartered Scientist, Chartered Mathematician, Chartered Statistician and Chartered Manager. He continues to work with doctoral students around the globe and has an international reputation for his work in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Limerick, Ireland, a Visiting Professor at the University of Cumbria, UK and a Visiting Professor at the British University in Egypt.
Sauvik Banerjjee
Founder MD and CEO of Project Z at TCG Powered,
CEO of Product, Technology & Digital Services at Rezolve Limited
Short Bio: Sauvik Banerjjee is a globally recognized technologist and entrepreneur with over 23 years of experience. He has launched over 500 internet platforms across 4 continents, including projects like Reliance JIO and TataCLiQ. As a TEDx Speaker and MIT Startup Hub mentor, Sauvik focuses on technology futurism and the impact of AI on human lives.As a tech futurist, I ponder how technology shapes our world. Yet, family remains my top priority. Blessed with a loving wife, an accomplished actor, and two wonderful sons, we cherish our bond amidst life’s busyness. In an age where tech can isolate, family’s love and support are paramount.
Played pro cricket with Sourav Ganguly, Arun Lal, Syed Saba Karim. Represented Bengal, Kolkata clubs, and teams in England, Scotland.Passionate about e-commerce, app economy, and neural networks. Built India’s top digital platforms: Reliance JIO, TataCLIQ, Tata Digital, and Tata Neu. Obsessed with behavioral data and tech futurism, especially the Metaverse & AI.
Proud member of India’s tech community.
Recognized as one of only six global experts in Omni-Channel platforms. Received awards from SAP INDIA and SAP APJ for exceptional contributions in license sales and service delivery. Star Performer for closing Accenture Digital’s largest CEC deal. Honored with the Digital Achiever Award for creating two innovative products. Appointed to SPRINGERS A.I. & Ethics global editorial board, the first Indian-origin individual to receive this recognition.
Jody R. Westby, Esq.
CEO at Global Cyber Risk LLC
Short Bio: Drawing upon a unique combination of more than twenty years of technical, legal, policy, and business experience, Ms. Westby provides first-tier advisory and technical services to organizations in the areas of cyber and AI governance, privacy, cybersecurity, incident response, and digital asset inventories and data mapping. Her team has deep expertise in cybersecurity best practices and standards, including those applicable to industrial control and SCADA systems used in manufacturing, utility grids, and critical infrastructure sectors. Ms. Westby also is a professional blogger for Forbes and writes periodically for Leader’s Edge magazine on cybersecurity issues.
Ms. Westby is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. She serves as co-chair of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Privacy and Computer Crime Committee (Science & Technology Law Section) and co-chair of the Cybercrime Committee (Criminal Justice Section) and has served four terms on the ABA President’s Cybersecurity Task Force. She co-chaired the World Federation of Scientists’ (WFS) Permanent Monitoring Panel on Information Security and served on the ITU Secretary-General’s High Level Experts Group on Cybersecurity. She is vice chair of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) U.S. Technology and Policy Committee.
Ms. Westby is the author of seven books, all published by the American Bar Association on cybersecurity, privacy, cybercrime, and cyber governance. Her latest publication, D&O Guide to Cyber Governance: Fiduciary Duties in the Digital Age, builds on her 15 years of experience in the governance of cyber risks and widely recognized series of governance surveys and reports. Ms. Westby led the development of the International Toolkit on Cybercrime Legislation and was editor and co-author of the 2010 UN publication, The Quest for Cyber Peace.
Previously, she launched In-Q-Tel for the CIA, was senior managing director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, was senior fellow and director of IT Studies for the Progress and Freedom Foundation, and was director of domestic policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Westby practiced law at Shearman & Sterling and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
She earned a B.A., summa cum laude, University of Tulsa and J.D., magna cum laude, Georgetown University Law Center and was named to the Order of the Coif. Ms. Westby was elected a member of the American Bar Foundation and the Cosmos Club.
SYNOPSIS:
2024 is a year in which democracy is under threat in many parts of the world. Voters are exercising their democratic right to vote in India, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union, South Africa, and many other countries. At the same time, we are in the third A.I. “boom” and the explosion of A.I. tools based around Generative A.I. models has become a technological “arms race” with ‘Big Tech’ companies competing to roll out their new or updated A.I. tools. Some of these developments have been controversial, and have already resulted in significant harms to individuals, groups, companies, and potentially to society at large – including impacting on democracy itself.
Our workshop will explore what is happening with the latest boom in A.I., and whether the attempts to create legislation, regulations, and governance frameworks which can create ‘guardrails’ around A.I. without stifling the drive to innovate and productise A.I. research and development is working.
Our panel includes the Co-Editors-in-Chief of the Springer Nature journal AI and Ethics, as well as experts from the tech industries who are driving A.I. developments forward. The workshop will be interactive, and we hope for a lively audience debate!
Τhis will be an interactive workshop led by Professor John MacIntyre, with short presentations from the panel members and an open Q&A session where we hope the audience members will be able to ask, and answer, important questions about …:
- The new EU AI Act – what does it mean for research and innovation?
- AI and Democracy – a more wide-ranging theme which would look at how AI is affecting the democratic processes in various places around the world, in a year where both the USA and UK will have elections and other countries and regions are adapting to the impact of AI.
- Segment 3
- Segment 4
- …
The workshop will be available to audience members in person at the conference and to those participating virtually.