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Inclusion & Sustainability in AI (AI4ALL) Special Interest Group

Artificial Intelligence is the hype of the moment, yet two critical issues remain underrepresented in mainstream discussions: sustainability and inclusion. We face an unacceptable risk of developing AI tools that serve only a privileged segment of the global population, driven by unsustainable costs and environmental impacts, as well as services that are neither accessible nor inclusive. This digital divide could lead to consequences far worse than those we have already encountered.

To address these challenges the EUNIS  Inclusion & Sustainability in Artificial Intelligence  (AI4ALL) SIG  has been established), to:

  • explore and explain the deep connections between inclusion, sustainability and future of AI
  • spread awareness about the need of ‘AI for All’ focusing on inclusion and sustainability challenges
  • stimulate private and public organisations to consider inclusion and sustainability in their AI development, regulations and use.

The vision of AI4ALL is to promote an inclusive and sustainable AI journey. Only by considering together AI, sustainability and inclusion we can avoid the risk of developing “elite technologies” that will increase the digital divide.

The scope of the EUNIS SIG on AI4ALL therefore is on:

  • Creating a cross initiatives community that fosters the dissemination of information and best practices among EUNIS members and relevant stakeholders in the public sector and academia
  • Enabling inclusion and sustainability to become key factors in AI development AI regulations and AI use.
  • Sharing knowledge and best practices, aiming for better understanding and a future state of AI operations where inclusion and sustainability are the norm
  • Promoting and stimulating projects and initiatives that aim to support and improve inclusion and sustainability in AI operations.
  • Explore university strategies, requirements and responsibilities towards engagement with AI, while securing inclusion and sustainability criteria.
  • Risk assessment on current AI developments with regard to inclusion and sustainability, in higher education and research

Goals and Approaches

Concrete and realistic goals will be discussed once membership of the SIG allows for exchanges of views on what priorities will be chosen and how the SIG should operate. Some ideas can be found below:

  • Creation of a panel of topical experts to regularly discuss the latest developments, flag challenges, and share practices.
  • Collecting best practices, articles and materials around the AI4ALL topic(s) and make these available for the EUNIS community.
  • Disseminate and network through workshops, webinars, articles, publications, EUNIS Conference presentations, etc.). Aim is to raise awareness by sharing knowledge and expertise on the sustainability and inclusion of AI. SIG members as well as the EUNIS community will benefit.
  • Contribute to external online and F2F events, present at institutional events (e.g. TNC conference, EUA, GEANT) so the broader Higher Education & Research sector will benefit as well.

Urgency

To effectively prepare for and mitigate the impending digital divide, there is an urgent need for:

  • Information sharing among all stakeholders regarding developments, scenarios, and practices in AI development, regulation, and application.
  • A common understanding of the aspects of AI that influence and challenge inclusive use for all.
  • A common understanding of the aspects of AI that affect sustainable usage.
  • Awareness of the consequences of these aspects on educational processes, information flows, and quality criteria.
  • Alignment and interoperability—governance, legal, technical, and semantic—between initiatives to create coherent solutions.
  • Enhanced interaction between universities and stakeholders (projects, initiatives) to stay aligned on the latest developments and desired future practices.

Initial Activities

Most efforts in 2024 will be aimed at promoting the SIG and invite colleagues in the EUNIS community to become a member of AI4ALL and join the mailing list. As soon as a substantial number of members can be identified, discussions will start to jointly agree on preferred activities and set priorities. 

  • In 2024 members may expect
    • consultations on member’s interest and priorities
    • reaching-out to identify relevant groups/initiatives to liaise with
    • proposals for topics to address
    • links to relevant papers, initiatives, events.
  • Early 2025 a first online event will take place, to: 
    • present and discussion on one of the preferred topics, 
    • jointly refine the scope and priorities
    • agree on operations and communication
  • At the EUNIS Congress 2025 (June, in Belfast, UK):
    • SIG AI4ALL will organise a pre-conference workshop (half day)
    • Proposals for presentations will be invited on AI4ALL topics 

The Inclusion & Sustainability in Artificial Intelligence  (AI4ALL) SIG  has started recently. First outputs, expected in 2025, will be featured here.

Read more on AI4ALL’s areas of interest here.

workJoin the AI4All SIG

Leaders of the SIG are Giuliano Pozza (CIO at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy) and Bonaria Biancu (Head of Software and Applications, ICT Dept, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy).

To join the group just send an email one of the SIG leads: 
Giuliano Pozza: giuliano.pozza@eunis.org or Bonaria Biancu bonaria.biancu@eunis.org

You may also subscribe the SIGs’ mailing list and join members of the CODAU Digital Sustainability working group (professionals from Italian Universities). CIOs, IT professionals, Accessibility/Inclusion experts, AI experts, Sustainability experts, policy and decision makers are welcome!