MIT Symposium Highlights Ethical Considerations in Technology Deployment
CAMBRIDGE, MA – A recent symposium at MIT showcased pioneering research integrating social, ethical, and technical considerations in computing. Fifteen TED Talk-style presentations by MIT faculty highlighted projects supported by seed grants from the Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC), an initiative of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing. The event underscored the importance of aligning technological advancements with societal values.
Nikos Trichakis, co-associate dean of SERC, emphasized the initiative’s commitment: “SERC is committed to driving progress at the intersection of computing, ethics, and society. The seed grants are designed to ignite bold, creative thinking around the complex challenges and possibilities in this space.” Caspar Hare, also co-associate dean of SERC, added that the symposium reflected a “collective community judgment about the most exciting work” in the ethical responsibilities of computing at MIT.
The full-day symposium, organized around themes including responsible healthcare technology, AI governance, technology in society, and digital inclusion, featured presentations on algorithmic bias, data privacy, and the evolving human-machine relationship. A poster session highlighted projects by SERC Scholars. Key highlights from the symposium included:
Making the Kidney Transplant System Fairer
Dimitris Bertsimas discussed his work on an algorithm designed to improve fairness and efficiency in kidney transplant allocation. His new algorithm, which considers factors like geography and mortality, dramatically reduces the time required for policy evaluation, from months to seconds. This innovation promises quicker improvements to the transplant system, directly benefiting patients on waiting lists. According to James Alcorn, senior policy strategist at UNOS, “This optimization radically changes the turnaround time for evaluating these different simulations of policy scenarios…We are able to make these changes much more rapidly, which ultimately means that we can improve the system for transplant candidates much more rapidly.”
The Ethics of AI-Generated Social Media Content
Adam Berinsky and Gabrielle Péloquin-Skulski presented research on the impact of labels on AI-generated content across social media. Their studies revealed that the effectiveness of labels varies, with some labels inadvertently reducing belief in both false and true posts. They suggested that labels combining process and veracity might be more effective in countering AI-generated misinformation.
Using AI to Increase Civil Discourse Online
Lily Tsai detailed experiments in generative AI aimed at fostering civil discourse online. Her team developed DELiberation.io, an AI-integrated platform for deliberative democracy, featuring modules designed to enhance online spaces for deliberation. Tsai stressed the importance of assessing the downstream outcomes of new technologies, stating, “We should all be demanding that technologies that are being developed are assessed to see if they have positive downstream outcomes, rather than just focusing on maximizing the number of users.”
A Public Think Tank That Considers All Aspects of AI
Catherine D’Ignazio and Nikko Stevens introduced Liberatory AI, a public think tank examining all aspects of AI. This initiative brings together researchers from diverse disciplines to contest the status quo and promote broader societal transformation in AI development.
The MIT Ethics of Computing Research Symposium underscored the critical need to integrate ethical considerations into technology deployment. The presented research offers valuable insights for navigating the complex challenges and opportunities at the intersection of computing, ethics, and society. Many of the presentations are available on YouTube.
