Shaping the Future of Science: AI, Ethics, and Scientific Research

I had the pleasure to organize a panel discussion on AI and the future of science for Max Planck postdocs, moderated with Jeremias Brand.

Panelists:
1.     Dr. Ian Robertson, Research Fellow at PAIR, Centre for Philosophy and AI research, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg 
2.     Prof. Dr. Isabel Valera, Professor on Machine Learning at the Department of Computer Science of Saarland University in Saarbrücken (Germany)
3.     Dr. Caitlin Corrigan, Executive Director of Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence, Technical University Munich
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Concept and Aim of the Panel:
Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged not only as a powerful tool but as an impetus for breakthroughs in scientific research and innovation, transforming research methodologies, accelerating data analysis, and raising the capabilities of researchers themselves. Given the many AI tools available for researchers, to what extent should AI be part of ‘doing research’? Should AI be only a tool to assist? Should AI be part of the creative process of doing science, such as generating scientific ideas? This panel aims to bring together experts from diverse backgrounds to explore the intersection of AI technology, ethics, and scientific research. 
Based upon the definitions and distinction utilized by the Nationale Strategie für Künstliche Intelligenz wherein “strong” AI refers to AI systems with the same intellectual capabilities of humans and “weak” AI refers to systems developed to support human thinking and solve specific problems, we will focus on ethical considerations regarding “weak” AI through three main topics of discussion: research, bias and fairness, and transparency and accountability.