3rd AAAI Workshop on Artificial Intelligence – Diversity, Belonging, Equity, and Inclusion (AIDBEI)
More information to be announced soon.
AI Podcast Series to Educate the Public on AI and Show Off Undiscovered Talent
Organizer(s): Cindy Mason (Primary Contact), Cristina Puente Agueda (Pontificia Comillas University), Elisa Gutierrez Garcia (Complutense University)
External site: http://www.aaai22-podsquad.org
In this AAAI-22 workshop we will be creating podcasts celebrating the voices of underrepresented populations in AI. Each of our voices and ways of seeing in the world bring something important to the world of AI. Being in the minority can sometimes feel scary or even make you feel speechless, especially when you are outnumbered. Coming together to support one another, we hope our collective and individual voices will help us feel more at ease in AI and also to get to know others who may have shared experiences and interests. Podcasts are a great way to get your work and your voice “out there” because giving a podcast lecture is much less pressure than a stand up performance. You could even do it in your pajamas.
As a suggestion, we have provided 3 types of podcasts.
I) The Pod Squad, II) Educating the Public, and III) The AI Future. An example of some main points to cover for each type are described below. Along with making your podcast, you will send in a brief (1-3 pages pdf) outline or description of your podcast.
I) The Pod Squad
-Who are you?
-What is your research?
-Share your story (optional)
-Why did you go into AI?
-Challenges you faced and how you overcame them
-Advice for someone just starting
-Who is someone you admire or who encouraged you?
II) Educating the Public
-Descriptions for high schoolers/parents/non-techies if possible
-See www.radioai.net for examples of AI for the public
-Who are you?
-Share a little about your AI work/research
-Share a brief lecture on your favorite topic in AI
-Tell us about your project
-How can this kind of AI be used in the world?
III) The AI Future
-Who are you?
-What is your AI work/research?
-Are you hopeful about what AI technologies can bring to our future? If so, which ones?
-As an underrepresented AI researcher, what would you say to the AI community that you feel would make things better?
-What excites you about AI right now?
-Do you feel technology will help make lives better? If so, what, how, and why?
Submissions: You control what goes in your podcast, you own it and you got this.
Please send a brief outline or description (300-600 words pdf) of the podcast that you want to create as well as any ideas for what you think would be important stories to share in the workshop or in a podcast to encourage and inspire others.
Publishing: Following the workshop, we invite everyone to submit their final updated versions (of course they will be awesome!) to be published/ distributed online as part of a special collection. Details will be available on the workshop URL listed above.
Increasing Diversity and Bridging Gender Divide in Artificial Intelligence: A Roundtable and Networking Activity
Organizer(s): Yetunde Folajimi, Durga Suresh-Menon, Jeanna Matthews, Mary Ejiwale
External Website: https://ai4g.computergeeky.org/
AI for Girls is a roundtable and networking event for experts and organizations interested in bridging the gender divide in AI to discuss the trend, strategies, and best practices in strengthening female involvement in artificial intelligence and paving the way for the future of girls in developing / underdeveloped countries of the world. The event will feature seasoned panelists and highlight the AI diversity and inclusion activities of approximately 10 organizations in Africa and their efforts in empowering girls and women to be involved in AI. It is our hope that the outcome of this event will provide participants with more knowledge and opportunities to learn from each other, with a measurable outcome that will provide new insights and future directions as regards AI and the gender divide in developing countries.
International Workshop on Social Impact of AI for Africa
Organizers: Yetunde Folajimi, Memo Ergezer, Salem Othman
External Website: https://sites.google.com/wit.edu/siaia/home
The lack of diversity and scarcity of data regarding Artificial Intelligence and its impact in developing countries, especially in Africa has been receiving attention in recent years. The International Workshop on Social Impact of AI for Africa (SIAIA-22) is a half-day event at AAAI-22 to provide an avenue for participants to engage in discussions regarding the social impact of AI in Africa. The event will bring together researchers, students, educators, and individuals or organizations working to advance AI in Africa. The participants will discuss efforts that have been made in research and development, education, or activities in AI for empowering communities and creating awareness about the future of Africa in the AI revolution. The workshop will engage participants in groundbreaking conversation and create new insights and directions that will provide guidance for future AI events for Africa.
LatinX in AI (LXAI) Social
Organizer(s): Pablo Samuel Castro (Staff Research Software Developer, Google), Estefanía Talavera Martínez (Assistant Professor, University of Twente), Javier Gonzalez-Sanchez (Faculty, Arizona State University), Maria Luisa Santiago (Program Coordinator, Accel.ai) Laura Montoya (Executive Director, Accel AI Institute, President)
External Website: https://www.latinxinai.org/aaai-2022
LatinX in AI (LXAI) is hosting a social to connect LatinX identifying AI Researchers and Engineers following the Conference on Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence taking place February 22nd – March 1st, 2022.
This LatinX in AI (LXAI) social is aimed at LatinX individuals working on or interested in AI with a goal to increase the visibility of researchers of LatinX origin. Those already working in AI will have the opportunity to connect with fellow LatinX and make their own work known, while those new to the field will benefit from the scientific exchange, guidance, and advice of researchers with the same background. Participants will be able to engage in discussions about AI (formal and informal) and to share their thoughts on how to increase the presence of LatinX in AI.
During this social, we’ll feature invited talks from prominent LatinX in AI community members and host roundtable discussions facilitating conversations among attendees.
Mid-Career Diversity Tea and Cake (MIDCAR)
Organizer(s): Sara E. Berger, Laura Hiatt, and Pablo Rivas
External Website URL: https://baylor.ai/midcar
The 2022 MIDCAR meeting will be a space to discuss issues pertinent to mid-career members of underrepresented communities and network with others in the field. Over 3 hours, we hope to encourage the discussion of issues faced by members who are at mid-career levels and to facilitate formal or informal mentorships through connections made. This will be carried out by an invited facilitator who will engage the attendees to first brainstorm issues and then have groups discuss how to address them.
Objectives:
- Increase awareness of potential disadvantages faced by minorities and actions to take to mitigate or prevent them at mid-career levels.
- Strengthen the ties between underrepresented AAAI members at the mid-career level.
- Revitalize our group and create repositories of talk topics to motivate ourselves and elevate ourselves so that, together, we can overcome encumbrances posed by our minority perspective.
Queer in AI
Organizer(s): Raj Korpan, Ph.D. (he/him), Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Iona College; Danica Sutherland, Ph.D. (she/they), Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia
External Website: https://sites.google.com/view/queer-in-ai/aaai-2022
Queer in AI’s presence at AAAI 2022 aims to create a safe and inclusive casual networking and socializing space for LGBTQIA+ individuals and allies involved with AI. We aim to create a community space where attendees can connect with each other, bond over shared experiences, and learn from each individual’s unique insights into AI, queerness, and beyond! We will have two events at AAAI: A social event, to bring the community together. A speaker will reflect on the diversity and inclusion of the AI community, followed by an informal networking session. The event will be free and open to all; see the website for registration info. We will also host a mentorship session for undergraduate and junior grad students, where speakers will talk about their journey since undergrad, a Q&A session, and break-out groups to pair students with a more senior member of the community. To attend, please register (info on the AAAI-22 website) in advance of the conference.