The discussion on the potential dangers associated with the rapid rise of AI is more prominent than ever, ranging from proposals for a pause in the development of AI and warnings that it could lead to human extinction, to speculations about scenarios in which a military AI might kill its operator. In this panel we’ll take a closer look at the risks associated with the current dynamics with which AI systems are being developed. What are the blind spots we may be missing?

Researcher Oumaima Hajri (researcher at Cambridge University and Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences) will discuss how colonial approaches are embedded in the digital technologies that are being developed. Kim van Sparrentak (Member of the European Parliament) worked as a shadow rapporteur on the Artificial Intelligence Act. She will highlight some of the key provisions in the current version of the act, and argue that in deploying AI we need strict regulations, not just voluntary commitments by tech companies, to safeguard our values. Michele Murgia (researcher at Erasmus University), who is working on a tool that uses AI for educational purposes, will contend that it is possible to develop AI with a critical approach to the values embedded in the technology. Finally, Ruha Benjamin (Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University), will reflect on the panel’s contributions and make suggestions as to how we can move forward to ‘grow the world we want’ – and what role AI should and should not play in the process.