Software.org Joins Partnership on AI

August 01, 2018

By Chris Hopfensperger

The stunningly fast pace of innovation in the realm of artificial intelligence raises a great many questions for both technologists and policymakers: How is AI going to change society? How should it? And what role should we play in shaping those changes?

The Partnership on AI is a multistakeholder organization that brings together academics, researchers, civil society organizations, and companies to examine questions like those and to better understand AI’s impacts on people and society.

Today, Software.org: the BSA Foundation joined the partnership’s ranks, prepared to engage in a forum to develop and share best practices, advance public understanding, and foster efforts in AI for socially beneficial purposes. Other partners include IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, the AI Now Institute, and the American Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.

The Partnership on AI has identified six thematic pillars it plans to address and discuss:

Safety-Critical AI

Fair, Transparent, and Accountable AI

AI, Labor, and the Economy

Collaborations Between People and AI Systems

Social and Societal Influences of AI

AI and Social Good

The Partnership on AI plans to target these core issues by engaging experts and stakeholders, enabling studies, and developing learning materials.

This is all very relevant to Software.org’s work on AI. We launched our own discussion of AI this year with the publication of our report on the technology’s promise and potential: Artificial Intelligence: Maximizing the Benefits. We highlighted the intersection of AI and government policy by sponsoring the Washington Post event Transformers: Artificial Intelligence in March. That event touched on everything from how policy leaders are working with private sector to foster innovation in AI to using and implementing AI responsibly. Looking ahead, we will continue delve into the questions surrounding the technology, beginning with examinations of efforts to mitigate bias in AI and on the many ways AI is being used to foster inclusion and accessibility.

Software.org is looking forward to continued discussion on the importance of smart, balanced policies that can help society reap the opportunities that come from AI.

For more information, see the full list of the Partnership on AI’s partners.