Ethics in AI Lunchtime Seminars - Mitigating algorithmic harms: can professionalisation of software engineering and administration help?

Six Silberman

Ethics in AI Lunchtime Research Seminar - Wednesday 25th October, 12:30pm - 1:30pm

With guest speaker Michael 'Six' Silberman

Abstract: A growing body of empirical research and investigative journalism has identified serious harms occasioned by partially- and fully-automated (i.e., algorithmic) decision-making systems, especially in work environments and government decision-making. A wide range of proposals have been advanced to mitigate these harms, including better enforcement of existing laws, new laws, new technical standards, and supranational governance regimes. This talk will briefly review existing governance frameworks around the manufacture and operation of other technologies and engineering fields that might offer lessons for the policy task of governing the development and operation of algorithmic decision-making systems. It will also present some possible strategies through which increased professionalisation of software engineering and administration could contribute to this task. The talk will present very preliminary research and ample time will be reserved for discussion. The insights and suggestions of seminar participants will be greatly welcomed.

We will run each seminar in a hybrid format, allowing many guests to attend in person and everyone else online. To help us carefully manage the numbers and ensure you receive the relevant joining instructions, please register your interest by clicking 'Registration Required' below. Further joining instructions will be forwarded once you register.

Six Silberman is a postdoctoral researcher in the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, working in the European Research Council-funded iManage project on regulating algorithmic management, with colleagues Sangh Rakshita, Dr Halefom Abraha, and PI Prof Jeremias Adams-Prassl. Silberman previously worked as a software engineer at Organise, a London-based social enterprise supporting workers’ rights (2020–2022); at IG Metall, the trade union in the German manufacturing sector, on worker rights in digital labour platforms (2015–2020); and as lead developer of Turkopticon, a web application used by ‘clickworkers’ on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform (2008–2020).