Eleanor ‘Nell’ Watson, a trailblazer in emerging technologies such as machine vision and A.I. ethics, dedicates her work to protecting human rights and infusing ethics, safety, and values that elevate the human spirit into technologies like Artificial Intelligence.
As Chair & Vice-Chair of the IEEE’s ECPAIS Transparency Experts Focus Group, and P7001 Transparency of Autonomous Systems committee on A.I. Ethics & Safety, Nell is engineering mechanisms into A.I. to help safeguard algorithmic trust.
She also leads several prominent organizations such as EthicsNet.org, teaching machines prosocial behaviors, CulturalPeace.org, crafting Geneva Conventions-style rules for cultural conflict, Endohazard.org, a hazard symbol project for informing consumers of endocrine disruptors, and Pacha.org, connecting a network of service providers to help enable the automated accounting of externalities (shifted costs) such as pollution. Nell has distilled her knowledge on AI Ethics and AI Safety into her bestselling book, Taming the Machine.
Nell holds the position of Executive Consultant on philosophical matters for Apple, as well as the President of EURAIO, the European Responsible Artificial Intelligence Office. She serves as Senior Scientific Advisor to The Future Society, and Senior Fellow to The Atlantic Council. In addition, she holds fellowships with the British Computing Society and Royal Statistical Society, among others.
Through her public speaking, Nell has inspired audiences to work towards a brighter future at venues such as The World Bank, The United Nations General Assembly, and The Royal Society. Join her in her quest to shape a responsible and ethical future for AI.
Sample Topics
Hitting the Ground Running with A.I.
Machine Intelligence is as big a disruption as electricity was in the 20th century. It can seem confusing and hard to implement. This talk gives an overview of various terms and concepts, a timeline running from the past to the near future, and a crash course on how to practically implement AI within your business to create new opportunities.
Cryptomics – A smarter, kinder, and trustworthy way to build a better world.
This talk explores the latest developments in Machine Intelligence, Machine Economics (Blockchain, DHTm etc), and the emerging discipline of Machine Ethics. The confluence of these three domains with the Internet of Things is creating revolutionary new ways of organising society, and building trust between individuals and institutions. This can enable a massive increase in global human wellbeing in the coming decade – if we get it right.
Exponential Ethos
Our global society is experiencing an immense shift: Entire industries once considered ‘bricks and mortar’, such as taxi rides and hotel rooms, are being transformed into digital powerhouses. Physical objects are becoming dematerialised, democratised, and dynamically distributed to all, at ever decreasing costs, and incredible value. Understanding the vast, disruptive power of exponential factors, and how to make effective use of them to amplify ones’ activities, is the fundamental key skill for enjoying massive business, technical, and societal success this century.
Machine Ethics
The emerging field of machine ethics offers a revolution in how ethical analyses and transactions can occur. By making ethical decisions computable, we can give a sense of morality to machine intelligence, such as autonomous vehicles and personal assistants. Learn how we can best program these fuzzy aspects of ‘humanity’ into machine intelligence, in a way which respects differences of opinion and creeds, and yet provides adequate protection for humans and machines.
Humanizing Machines
Intelligent machines are beginning to understand the needs, drives, and even values of humanity, with huge opportunities for each of our lives and our global society. These technologies can transform our communities, making our world more safe and secure, and helping us to manage precious resources in new ways. how can we make the most of these capabilities, and ensure that the spirit and wisdom of the human isn’t lost in a sea of cold algorithms? How can we retain our humanity, whilst growing past our greatest weaknesses?
Pandemic Special Topics:
Practical tips and inspirations on how to apply core business competencies in new domains
Adapting to telepresence and risk-managed socially-distanced in-person interaction
How to best ensure Corporate Health through smart policy and technology
Essential technologies that enable new business processes and market access
The practical application of reasonable ethical and safety measures during extraordinary times
Scenario analysis and planning for highly uncertain near to mid-term futures
Mitigating and managing logistics and supply chain concerns.
