Workshop on ethics of artificial intelligence took place in Tartu
On 25–26 August, the workshop on the ethics of artificial intelligence, „Ethics of AI: Navigating Challenges to Values, Society, and Human Welfare“, was held at the University of Tartu.
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in decision-making, public services, education, healthcare, and everyday life, it raises profound questions not only for society and the economy, but also for what it means to be human. How will future developments in AI or AGI shape our sense of self, our capacity for autonomy and critical thought, and the foundations of democratic life?
Professor Margit Sutrop, Head of the Centre of Ethics at the University of Tartu and Chair of the Ethics Advisory Board of the Estonian Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, noted that the workshop brought together philosophers, computer scientists, social scientists, and lawyers to discuss which activities can be entrusted to artificial intelligence and which must remain with humans. „Together we reflected on how to shape human-centred societies in the age of AI, where technology does not replace the human being as a moral, political, and creative agent, but instead supports justice, autonomy, and human dignity,“ Sutrop said.
Monday, 25 August
9.30-9.35 Welcome and introduction
9.35–10.50 Session I. Technical and Ethical Challenges of AI
9.35-10.05 Meelis Kull (Professor of Artificial Intelligence University of Tartu, Head of EXAI), The Capabilities and Future of AI: How Should We Think About It?
10.05-10.35 Margit Sutrop (Professor of Practical Philosophy, Head of the Centre for Ethics University of Tartu), AI, Ethics, and Human Values at Stake
10.35-10.50 Discussion
10.50–11.15 Coffee break
11.15 – 13.15 Session II. How Transformative is the Change Brought by AI?
11.15-11.45 Jaak Vilo (Professor of Biometrics, Head of Chair of Data Science, University of Tartu), Work with AI
11.45-12.15 Marju Lauristin (Professor emeritus of Political Communication, University of Tartu), How does AI Put Being Human to the Test?
12.-12.45 Anu Masso (Associate Professor in Social Science Big Data, Tallinn University of Technology), Welfare in the Age of AI: Values, Vulnerability, and New Literacies
12.45-13.15 Discussion
13.15–14.00 Lunch
14.00-15.00 Keynote Joanna Bryson (Professor of Ethics and Technology at the Hertie School), Life After the Intelligence Explosion: Human Value in Security, Morality, and Economics
15.00-15.15 Short break
15.15-16.30 Session III. Socio-Legal Implications of AI
15.15-15.45 Riikka Koulu (Associate professor of Socio-legal Implications of AI, Head of the University of Helsinki Legal Tech Lab Helsinki University), Digitalising Courts and Administration in Finland: Socio-Legal Shapings of Human-Machine Relations?
15.45-16.15 Henrik Trasberg (Legal advisor on new technologies to the Estonian Ministry of Justice & Digital Affairs), Automating the State: Are Estonia’s Policies Keeping Pace to Uphold Fundamental Rights and Values in AI-Driven Public Sector
16.15-16.30 Discussion
16.30-16.45 Short break
16.45 – 18.00 Session IV. When the Algorithm Becomes the Boss
16.45 –17.15 Aive Pevkur (Senior Lecturer, Tallinn University of Technology), AI Advises Companies. CEO’s on Standby, or Not?
17.15-17.45 Mihkel Solvak (Associate Professor of Technology Research, University of Tartu), Using AI to Evaluate Labor Market Service Quality in Case of the Unemployed
17.45-18.00 Discussion
18.00.-18.15 Reflections and takeaways
18.30-21.00 Networking dinner
Tuesday, 26 August
9.00–10.15 Session V. AI and the Problem of Hallucination: Language, Truth, and Responsibility
9.00-9.30 Tanel Tammet (Professor of Applied Artificial Intelligence, Tallinn University of Technology), Where does truth matter: world models and the bullshit rate of LLMs.
9.30-10.00 May Thorseth (Professor of Philosophy, Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Human-AI Interaction in Democratic Decision Making
10.00-10.15 Discussion
10.15-10.45 Coffee break
10.45-11.45 Discussion of cases
11.45-12.00 Short break
12.00-13.15 Session VI. AI and Human Impact: Navigating Power, Privacy & Professional Autonomy
12.00-12.30 Björn Lundgren (Research Fellow, Centre for Philosophy and AI Research, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg), Privacy is not power, but what is?
12.30-13.00 Kadri Simm (Professor of Practical Ethics, University of Tartu), AI in healthcare. The case of patient preference predictor
13.00-13.15 Discussion
13.15–14.00 Lunch
14.00-15.15 Session VII. Impact of AI on Education and Research
14.00-14.30 Virginia Conde (Postdoctoral Fellow Multimodal Imaging and Cognitive Control lab University of Oslo), Dialogic Machines and Meaning-Making in Educational Contexts: Automation Bias and the Illusion of Neutrality
14.30-15.00 Jaan Aru (Associate Professor in Computational Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence), Might Artificial Intelligence Enhance Natural Stupidity?
15.00-15.15 Discussion
15.15-16.00 General discussion
The event was organised by the Centre for Ethics of the University of Tartu and the Estonian Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (EXAI). The event is supported by the Ministry of Education and Research Centres of Excellence grant TK213 (Estonian Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (EXAI)). The event was co-financed by the European Union.
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