We received a fantastic slate of paper and poster submissions and we remained committed to providing the authors of the submissions with the highest quality feedback, as is quintessential of We Robot conferences. To this end, we decided to deliver the conference asynchronously online, using pre-recorded author/discussant sessions.
The virtual conference consisted of three live events, a poster gallery, and pre-recorded session with live conversation on Twitter and YouTube.
Tuesday, 17:00 EST | We Robot 2020 Virtual Edition Launch Event Hosted by Florian Martin-Bariteau, Jason Millar and Katie Szilagyi (We Robot Co-Chairs) |
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Thursday, 20:00 EST | We Robot 2020 Virtual Happy Hour Hosted by Ryan Calo and Sue Glueck Join Ryan Calo and Sue "Robot Cat Lady" Glueck for a We Robot virtual happy hour. Sue and Ryan encourage you to bring your own drink AND an original robot law haiku---five, seven, and five syllables and a Kigo (reference to the seasons). The best haiku will receive a secret prize. |
Friday, 17:00 EST | We Robot 2020 Virtual Edition Closing Event Hosted by Florian Martin-Bariteau, Jason Millar and Katie Szilagyi (We Robot Co-Chairs) The We Robot Program Committee will announce the winners of the paper and poster awards (including the Ian R. Kerr Robotnik Memorial Award for an Emerging Scholar) along with plans for We Robot 2021 (the 10-year anniversary of We Robot!). |
Connection details were automatically sent to people who had registered for We Robot 2020 in April. Interested participants were added to the list by sending an email to werobot@uottawa.ca. Registration was free.
Over the summer of 2020, we worked with authors and discussants to record virtual We Robot paper sessions and panels. Thanks to the hard work of our conference community, we were able to offer a taste of the spirited We Robot discussions that we all love. In the We Robot tradition, the videos feature a discussant presenting the author’s work and offering constructive thoughts and improvements. The author then responds to the discussant’s feedback and an engaged conversation ensues.
The videos were made available on YouTube at the date and time listed below.
Conference participants were able to comment and exchange thoughts and ideas in the comments section of the video. We welcomed constructive comments on YouTube (where the videos will be hosted) and Twitter (where the videos will be shared with a broader audience).
We announced the We Robot 2020 paper awards winner during the live event on Friday, September 25 (see details above).
| Premiere | Session |
|---|---|
Wed. 23 9:15 EST | Liam G. McCoy (University of Toronto), Jacquelyn Burkell, Dallas Card, Brent Davis, Judy Gichoya, Sophie Le Page, and David Madras Discussant: Peter Asaro (The New School) |
Wed. 23 11:15 EST | Panel Session “Legal Liability and Accountability” Bridging the liability gap using human-centered legal design: three scenarios to apply the liability from social contact A Law & Economics Approach Regulatory Accountability for Intelligent and Automated Systems: Coordinating Multiple Governance Mechanisms Missing the Unintended Forest despite the Deliberately Planted Trees: Reasonable Foreseeability and Legal Recognition of Platform Algorithm- Facilitated Emergent Systemic Harm to Marginalized Communities Explaining the Punishment/Liability Gap of AI and Robots |
Wed. 23 13:15 EST | Dual Session “Facial Recognition and Identity Manipulation” Identity Manipulation: Responding to advances in artificial intelligence and robotics Legitimate Uses of Facial Recognition Technology in Surveillance: Risks to Personal Integrity and Regulatory Challenges Facing the EU |
Wed. 23 15:15 EST | Humans in the Loop: Building a Culture of Responsible AI Discussant: AJung Moon (McGill University) |
Thur. 24 9:15 EST | Dual Session “Sentiment Analysis in AI” Off-the-Shelf Sentiment Analysis: The Ethics of Subjectively Annotated Data and Objectively Measured AI Models The Ethics of Emotion in AI Systems |
Thur. 24 11:15 EST | Reconciling Legal and Technical Approaches to Algorithmic Bias Discussant: Jon Penney (York University) |
Thur. 24 13:15 EST | Involving Seniors in Developing Privacy Best Practices: Towards Responsible Development of Social Technologies for Seniors Discussant: Hallie Siegel (University of Toronto Robotics Institute) |
Thur. 24 15:15 EST | People Packets and Fairness in the Age of Algorithmically Controlled Mobility Shaping Discussant: Bryant Walker-Smith (University of South Carolina) |
Fri. 25 9:15 EST | Towards Integration of African Priorities into Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy Agendas Discussant: Hugo Cyr (Université du Québec à Montréal) |
Fri. 25 11:15 EST | Narratives of Artificial Intelligence in a Gendered and Racialized World: Emergence on the African Continent Discussant: Kanta Dihal (University of Cambridge) |
Fri. 25 13:15 EST | Administrative Law and the Governance of Automated Decision-Making: A Critical Look at Canada’s Directive on Automated Decision-Making Discussant: Jennifer Raso (University of Alberta) |
Fri. 25 15:15 EST | Sextech, Fantasy and Law: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb(shell) Discussant: Kate Devlin (King's College London) Video recording and conversation on YouTube |
Best overall poster submitted to We Robot 2020.
Best overall paper selected for We Robot 2020.
Honourable Mentions:
Best paper written by an emerging scholar, or by a group where the first author is an emerging scholar.
