Professor Subbarao Kambhampati takes us through a trajectory of the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) since its inception in 1950s. The session showcases a computer scientist's views on the wide-ranging questions on the social implications of AI. The conversation covers themes such as facial recognition systems, social engineering and AI's role in exacerbating biases. Guest Profile: Professor Kambhampati has been a faculty in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Arizona...

Massive availability of data and regulating ways of extracting data from end users has been a conundrum for regulators globally. Additionally, data protection laws on the global level often fall flat on grasping local specificities and subjective negotiations with respect to people’s strategy of engaging with data on an everyday basis. Our speakers, Dr. Linnet Taylor and Siddharth Peter de Souza posit a justice-based governance framework to assess international norm- building for data...

Does 'smarter' necessarily mean 'safer'? “Smart City” projects around the world do claim so. Smart cities are often characterised by prominent deployment of technological devices and mechanisms of data aggregation. Framing them as essential to having safe living spaces has grave implications on human dignity, privacy and basic liberties. Dr. Maša Galič takes us through her fascinating work on the ‘Stratumseind living lab’, a smart city project in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Her work showcases...

Midst the rise of misinformation, disinformation and propaganda steering political communication, the present session delves into Dr. Samuel Woolley’s book, 'The Reality Game: How the Next Wave of Technology Will Break the Truth'. The author discusses the serious harms of technologies such as deep fakes and virtual reality when used subtly to manoeuvre public opinions and users worldviews. The author brings forth fascinating case studies of countries such as India, USA, besides others and...

In this panel discussion, members of the Law and Technology Research Group (LTRG) at CSLG, JNU, comprising Dr. Nupur Chowdhury, Dr. P. Puneeth, Manpreet Dhillon, Anuradha Singh, Mandira Narain and Prabhat Mishra, discuss the various facets of Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The views offered by the panelists mainly center around the structure of the rules, petitions filed by social media and digital news platforms, and interpretation...

Various on-demand platforms have gained currency in recent years as part of gig economy. App-based work or gig work is reshaping the relationship between service providers and customers. Gig economy platforms have also been criticized for forcing individuals into precarious work. In this session, we talk about platformization of work and the challenges faced by gig workers in India with Dr. Noopur Raval. A host of interesting questions from the live audience make the session an unmissable...

Artificial Intelligence(AI) is very much in the news these days. While some of it is truly amazing, a lot of it is hype! To decode AI, we have a wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Luke Stark. The exchange revolves around the history and future of AI, facial recognition technology, questionable emotion recognition claims, and the ethical use and governance of AI. Interspersed with thought-provoking questions from the live audience, the session is a delight to listen for everyone interested to...

We take up various themes from Dr. Sun-Ha Hong's latest book 'Technologies of Speculation: The limits of knowledge in a data-driven society' for discussion. The topics covered range from the way knowledge is constructed through technologies like AI to self-tracking technologies, privacy, transparency, datafication, and many others. We also incorporate various interesting questions from the live audience. This session is a must-listen for anyone interested in contemporary technologies and...