International Association for Computing and Philosophy Comes to Stanford

Advancing technology continues to touch parts of our lives we wouldn’t have expected. Robots making pizza is one thing, but robots sitting on the bench as judges? That’s a little stranger to imagine. While that sort of shift isn’t necessarily imminent, the idea of implementing AI and algorithms into criminal justice in other capacities is not unheard of. “Minority Report”-esque crime prevention tactics aside, algorithms to implement decisions on bail, sentencing, or even evidence collection are appearing in courts around the world. How we deal with such algorithms while ensuring they don’t violate essential rights and freedoms was the main focus of Professor Serena Quattrocolo’s presentation during last week’s annual International Association for Computing and Philosophy conference, hosted by the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society. Her talk was one of many during the three-day gathering, which convened scholars from places as varied as Israel, Argentina, Denmark, and Brazil, to discuss the important connections between philosophy, ethics, and computing.

Stanford was a natural place to host this year’s conference, according to Patrick Lin, local organizer for IACAP 2017 and Associate Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group at California Polytechnic State University (he's also an affiliate scholar at Stanford’s own Center for Internet and Society). “The last time it was here was in 1990. Obviously, Silicon Valley has evolved quite a bit since then.  So, we were hoping to engage more industry folks and other practitioners, not just philosophers—these aren’t issues that academics can solve on their own.  We need to make sure the conversations are grounded in real science and technology, as well as solid analysis; and I think we succeeded in that respect.” Speakers included a number of Googlers, as well as a co-inventor of Siri and one of the original designers of Tor. Having the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society support the event felt natural, too. “Who else is so perfectly positioned to connect first-rate philosophers and ethicists with industry experts?” Lin said.

Beyond topics like the ones Quattrocolo raised, the conference tackled everything from fake news to hacktivism to augmented reality, this year honing in on general themes surrounding technology and democracy. “There was also a great talk on the virtues and vices of online lurking—it’s not just for creeps!” Lin noted.

Though IACAP’s conference is only once a year and takes place in many countries, the McCoy Center will continue to explore important questions about the challenges computing presents to society and ethics here at Stanford. The Technology and Human Values lecture series will continue in 2017-2018: on November 1, constitutional law expert Nate Persily will explore whether democracy can survive the internet, and in February, Ethics in Society will welcome media and tech scholar Tim Wu. More events will be added to the calendar; subscribe to the newsletter for updates.