Jean-Christophe Bélisle-Pipon Visiting Researcher (2017-2020) - Petrie-Flom Center, Harvard Law School Bioéthique, éthique |
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02.08.2019-24.09.2019
AIship: The New State of Being
Artists and bioethicists explore nuances and spark public interest on the emotionally-charged dimensions of artificial intelligence, through an art/science exhibition for public engagement.
AI-ship . A neologism coined from Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the suffix “-ship” which means “the fact or state of being”. AI-ship refers to the new relationships and identities emerging from the use of AI.
The application of AI in health is expected to increase and transform the way we diagnose, prevent, and treat illness, not to mention revolutionize the way we interact with technologies. Even though AI offers great potential for improving healthcare delivery, it is crucial to consider the broad spectrum of ethical challenges raised by these new technologies. A contributing factor to the ethical challenges of AI is the complexity of the relationships that individuals can have with it, resulting in mistrust and fear in public discourse around AI’s impacts on human relationships.
AI’s impacts on relationships, both within and outside of the health care context, goes beyond scientific improvements into psychological, moral, and political changes. To correctly respond to the challenges raised by AI requires all of society to be involved in answering AI-ship. The goal of this project is to cut through the increasingly polarized public debates regarding AI, often fueled by sensationalism and fear mongering on the rise of “Dr. AI”, the growing distance between patients and their human healthcare providers, the associated feeling of being a number and not a person, and the increased reliance on robots for companionship and as caretakers.
Art and bioethics can both serve as important vectors for initiating and nurturing more nuanced and informed public discourses on emotionally charged issues. Internationally-renown artists have been paired with leading bioethicists to work together to raise awareness around the relationship and identity challenges stemming from AI uses and to foster a public reflection on the cutting-edge topic of AI-ship. This work culminates in a free-to-attend public art/science exhibition to spark public interest and engage into a collective reflection towards AI.
The exhibition will premiere at the Exhibition Center of the Université de Montréal in Canada in September 2019, and travel to Boston, USA in 2020 and in Europe in 2021. During the art/science exhibition (composed of sculptures, installations, paintings, digital arts and mixed media), the public will be invited to participate in reflecting on AI’s impacts on their lives. AI-ship: the New States of Being seeks to contribute to the public’s understanding and involvement in the bioethical issues of AI-ship.