AIM-LIFT: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Interdisciplinary Forum for Theory

What is AIM-LIFT?

AIM-LIFT is a reading and discussion group on AI and its social implications. We meet twice each month to discuss recently published papers.

AIM-LIFT Mission Statement:
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly evolving with still uncharted benefits and costs. Steering a course for an AI in society, and society alongside AI, demands a combination of technical competence and theoretical imaginativeness that is still too rare. AIM-LIFT aims to improve AI futures through technically informed and theoretically sophisticated discussion of AI/ML in its full context, drawn from multiple disciplines, skills, and backgrounds.

Agenda:
We meet on 1^st and 3^rd Tuesdays of each month, from 12pm-1pm, by Zoom. Someone gives a short introduction to the papers (5-10 minutes) and the group discusses. 

Hosts:
AIM-LIFT is co-hosted by 
Gabriella Waters (gabriella.waters@morgan.edu) and 
Phillip Honenberger (jaywilliam.honenberger@morgan.edu),
both at CEAMLS (the Center for Equitable AI & ML Systems) at Morgan State University.
The group is supported by CEAMLS. 

To participate in AIM-LIFT, write jaywilliam.honenberger@morgan.edu to be added to the list and receive readings and the Zoom link.

Topics and Readings at Past AIM-LIFT Meetings [updated June 13, 2024]

Tues., April 2, 2024
Topic: “Introduction to Bias Mitigation Techniques”
(1) Feldman & Peake, "End-to-End Bias Mitigation: Removing Gender Bias in Deep Learning" (2021)
(2) Wang & Russokovsky, "Overwriting Pretrained Bias with Finetuning Data" (2023)

Tues., March 5, 2024
Topic: “Diffusion Models and Image Generative AI”
(1) Robertson, “Google apologizes for ‘missing the mark’ after Gemini generated racially diverse Nazis” (2024), The Verge (https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/21/24079371/google-ai-gemini-generative-inaccurate-historical )
(2) Isaacs-Thomas, “How AI turns text into images” (2023), PBS News Hour (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/how-ai-makes-images-based-on-a-few-words)
(3) Bushwick et al., “See how AI generates images from text” (2023),
(https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/see-how-ai-generates-images-from-text/ )
(4) OPTIONAL (for the “deep dive”): Yang et al., “Diffusion Models: A Comprehensive Survey of Methods and Applications” (2023), ACM Computing Surveys (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374330983_Diffusion_Models_A_Comprehensive_Survey_of_Methods_and_Applications)

Tues., Feb. 20, 2024
Topic: “Women in AI / Diversity in AI Workforce”
Introduced by: Saata Senii
(1) Kassova, “Where are all the ‘godmothers’ of AI?” (2023) https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/nov/25/where-are-godmothers-of-ai-womens-voices-not-heard-in-tech-sam-altman-openai
(2) McKinsey Report on AI, 2022: The state of AI in 2022 – and a half-decade in review
(3) Bemba, “NYT Missed These 12 Trailblazers: Meet the Women Transforming AI”:
https://medium.com/womenintechnology/ny-times-missed-these-12-trailblazers-meet-the-women-transforming-ai-ae522f52a8b7

Tues., Feb. 6, 2024
Topic: “Student data, privacy, and AI in higher ed.”
Introduced by: Daniel Brunson (Morgan State, Dept. of Philosophy & Religious Studies)
(1) Mathewson, “He Wanted Privacy. His College Gave Him None.” (2023): https://themarkup.org/machine-learning/2023/11/30/he-wanted-privacy-his-college-gave-him-none
(2) Jones et al., “A Matter of Trust: Higher Education Institutions as Information Fiduciaries…” Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology (2019)

Thurs., Dec. 7, 2023
Topic: “Generative AI’s Effects on Labor Markets”
Introduced by: Larry Liu (Sociology, Morgan State University)
(1) Hui et al., "Short Term Effects of Generative AI on Employment" (2023) https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=29d80365f4&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1795271898958467057&th=18ea1647c4a90ff1&view=att&disp=inline&realattid=f_lpijcuy60
(2) Zarifhonarvar, "Economics of ChatGPT" https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=29d80365f4&attid=0.2&permmsgid=msg-f:1795271898958467057&th=18ea1647c4a90ff1&view=att&disp=inline&realattid=f_lpijcxdq1

Thurs., Nov 16, 2023
Topic: “Indigenous Perspectives and AI”
Introduced by: Lara Simmons (CEAMLS, Morgan State University)
(1)https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/04/10/world/indigenous-language-ai-colonization-worries/
(2) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ai-can-help-indigenous-people-protect-biodiversity
(3) https://techpolicy.press/an-indigenous-perspective-on-generative-ai/

Thurs., Nov. 2, 2023
Topic: “Political Economy of AI”
Introduced by: Daniel Brunson (Morgan State University, Dept. of Philosophy & Religious Studies)
(1) "Origin Stories: Plantations, Computers, and Industrial Control"
Meredith Whittaker
https://logicmag.io/supa-dupa-skies/origin-stories-plantations-computers-and-industrial-control/
(2) "Open (For Business): Big Tech, Concentrated Power, and the Political Economy of Open AI" (2023)
Widder, West, and Whittaker
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4543807

Thurs., Oct. 19, 2023
Topic: “AI and health equity”
Introduced by: Gabriella Waters (CEAMLS)
(1) Hendricks-Sturrup et al., "Developing Ethics and Equity Principles, Terms, and Engagement Tools to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity in AI/ML…" (2023)
(2) Supplementary: “An Expert Panel Discussion Embedding Ethics & Equity in AI/ML” Big Data, (2023)

Thurs., Oct. 5, 2023
Topic: “AI and humor”
Introduced by: Daniel Brunson (Morgan State, Dept. of Philosophy & Religious Studies)
(1) Thomas Winters, "Computers Learning Humor is No Joke" (2021): https://hdsr.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/wi9yky5c/release/3
(2) Kramer, "The Philosophy of Humor: What Makes Something Funny?" (2022): https://1000wordphilosophy.com/2022/11/20/the-philosophy-of-humor/
(3) Anjum & Lieberman, "Exploring Humor in Natural Language Processing" (2023)

Thurs., Sept. 21, 2023
Topic: “Explainability of AI/ML systems in healthcare contexts”
Introduced by: Phillip Honenberger (CEAMLS)
(1) Keller et al., "Augmenting Decision Competence in Healthcare Using AI-based Cognitive Models" (2020)
(2) Byeon, "Advances in Machine Learning and Explainable Artificial Intelligence for Depression Prediction" (2023)

Thurs., Sept. 7, 2023
Topic: “Gun-detection software in Baltimore schools”; “Operational criteria of consciousness in AI”
Introduced by: Gabriella Waters (CEAMLS) and Phillip Honenberger (CEAMLS)
(1) Wintrode, "Baltimore county schools add gun detection software to 7000 security cameras," Baltimore Banner (2023)
(2) Lenharo, "If AI becomes conscious, here's how researchers will know," Nature (2023): https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02684-5
(3) Finkel, "If AI becomes conscious, how will we know?" Science (2023): https://www.science.org/content/article/if-ai-becomes-conscious-how-will-we-know
(4) Supplementary: Butlin & Long et al., “Consciousness in Artificial Intelligence: Insights from the Science of Consciousness” (2023): https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.08708

Thurs., Aug. 17, 2023
Topic: “Big data and health equity”
Introduced by: Odia Kane (JHU)
(1) Doerr & Meeder, "Big Health Data Research and Group Harm: the Scope of IRB Review" (2022)
(2) Tsosie et al., "We Have Gifted Enough: Indigenous Genomic Data Sovereignty in Precision Medicine" (2021)

Thurs., Aug. 3, 2023
Topic: “AI and film”
Introduced by: Lara Simmons (CEAMLS)
(1) Tong et al., "The Use of Deep Learning and VR Technology in Film and Television Production...", Frontiers in Psychology (2021): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8080441/
(2) Pontefract, "Can Artificial Intelligence Help the Film Industry?"
Forbes (2023): https://www.forbes.com/sites/danpontefract/2023/04/24/can-artificial-intelligence-help-the-film-industry-it-already-is/?sh=14d1705948a4
(3) Smith, " 'Of course it's disturbing': Will AI change the film industry forever?" Guardian (2023): https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/mar/23/ai-change-hollywood-film-industry-concern

Thurs., July 20, 2023
Topic: “AI ethics frameworks (meta-analysis)”; “analogy between biological and artificial neural networks”
Introduced by: Phillip Honenberger (CEAMLS)
(1) Hagendorff, “The Ethics of AI Ethics” (2020)
(2) Macpherson et al., “Natural and Artificial Intelligence” (2021)

Thurs., July 6, 2023
Meeting canceled due to schedule conflicts

Thurs., June 15, 2023
Topic: “Turing test”; “large language models”; “artificial general intelligence (AGI)”
Introduced by: Pihlwa Lee (CEAMLS)
(1) Terry Sejnowski, "Large Language Models and the Reverse Turing Test" (Neural Computation, 2023)

Thurs., June 1, 2023
Topic: “AI in education; human-AI interaction; research methods for exploring human-AI interaction”
Introduced by: Lara Simmons (CEAMLS)
(1) Matt Cronin, “Do advances in AI risk a future of human incompetence?” (The Hill, May 2023)
(2) Hiekkilä, “A chatbot that asks questions could help you spot when it makes no sense”
(MIT Technology Review, April 2023)
(3) Danry et al., “Don’t Just Tell Me, Ask Me: AI Systems that Intelligently Frame Explanation as Questions Improve Human Logical Discernment Accuracy over Causal AI explanations.”
CHI’ 23 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, April 2023)
(4) Jakesch et al., “Co-Writing with Opinionated Language Models Affects Users’ Views.” CHI’ 23 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, April 2023)

Thurs., May 18, 2023
Topic: “Prompt engineering; ChatGPT”
Introduced by: Gabriella Waters (CEAMLS) & William Mapp (CEAMLS)
(1) White et al., "A Prompt Pattern Catalog to Enhance Prompt Engineering with ChatGPT" (Arxiv preprint, 2023)
(2) Sorensen, Robinson, Rytting, et al., "An Information-theoretic Approach to Prompt Engineering Without Ground Truth Labels" (Arxiv preprint, 2022)

Thurs., May 4, 2023
Topic: “ethics of predictive AI applications; ethics of AI-informed decision making; ChatGPT; agency”
Introduced by: Phillip Honenberger (CEAMLS; Dept. of Philosophy & Religious Studies, Morgan State)
(1) Desai et al., "Against predictive optimization" (2023): https://predictive-optimization.cs.princeton.edu/
(2) Floridi & Chiriatti, "GPT-3: Its Nature, Scope, Limits, and Consequences" (Minds & Machines, 2020): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11023-020-09548-1
(3) Floridi, "AI as Agency Without Intelligence" (Philosophy & Technology, 2023): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13347-023-00621-y

Thurs., April 20, 2023
Topic: “gating networks; Dynamic mixture of experts models; Wisconsin card sorting task; ANN-brain analogy; ChatGPT; AI “hallucinations”; political reaction to ChatGPT”
Introduced by: William Mapp (CEAMLS)
(1) “A modeling framework for adaptive lifelong learning with transfer and savings through gating in the prefrontal cortex” (PNAS, 2020): https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2009591117
(2) “ChatGPT Invents Sexual Harassment Scandal” (The Sync, 2023): https://thesyncweekly.com/chatgpt-invents-sexual-harassment-scandal/
(3) “Italy bans ChatGPT” (The Sync, 2023): https://thesyncweekly.com/italy-bans-chatgpt/

Thurs., April 6, 2023
Topic: “generative adversarial networks (GANs); linking brain activity to visual experience via network models; COMPAS algorithm; fairness and bias in AI applications”
Introduced by: Gabriella Waters (CEAMLS) and Phillip Honenberger (CEAMLS; Dept. of Philosophy & Religious Studies, Morgan State)
(1) Takagi, Yu and Shinji Nishimoto, “High-resolution image reconstruction with latent diffusion models from human brain activity” (BioRxiv, 2022)
(2) Larson, Jeff, Surya Mattu, Lauren Kirchner, and Julia Angwin, “How we analyzed the COMPAS recidivism algorithm” (ProPublica, 2016): https://www.propublica.org/article/how-we-analyzed-the-compas-recidivism-algorithm