Conference AI and Education for Democracy

Artificial intelligence is now present in every aspect of our lives, from the most individual to the most collective, from the most intimate to the most public spheres of our lives. From healthcare to education, from finance to the arts, it seems that no area of human activity can escape it.

However, this ubiquitous development of artificial intelligence is raising many questions in our democratic societies.

Of course, some questions that directly relate to our rights need to be asked, such as those concerning the protection of personal data or surveillance. However, more broadly, the question
arises of the links between artificial intelligence and education for democracy. The French newspaper, Libération, recently suggested that the development of artificial intelligence in the field of politics was comparable to a “dangerous liaison”. More broadly, the conference will explore the field of politics by examining the relationship between artificial intelligence and education for democracy, notably as it applies to the generations born with artificial intelligence (digital natives), for whom AI is commonplace.

The aim is to analyze how artificial intelligence is leading us to reflect on the conditions and scope of an education for democracy in fields as diverse as health, schools, art, politics, etc.

This international and interdisciplinary conference is the opportunity for different specialists to address this very issue from both theoretical and practical angles, and even to apply it to specific case studies.

The challenge of the conference is to examine the conditions under which we can envision an ethics linked with artificial intelligence that articulates the notion of care with Artificial Intelligence, meaning that it allows us to care for each other and for the democratic institutions that bind us together, as per the definition suggested by Joan Tronto in her book Caring Democracy. In other words, we will investigate the relationship between artificial intelligence and education for democracy, not as a program, but rather a project, to use the distinction drawn by Jean-François Lyotard (1993). This education is not predetermined, but rather speculative. It opens the field of possibilities and gives permission to try out new ideas without imposing them or imposing certain predetermined worldviews.

Organization:
Organized by UNESCO EVA Chair
With the support of CRHI, Idex, 3IA Université Côte d’Azur
With the support of Valentine Bailly (CRHI, Université Côte d'Azur, UNESCO EVA chair)


 

Program

Download the program

Thursday September 28 (10AM-5.30PM) 
10 AM Welcome
10-15AM-11.30AM
Chair: Vanessa Nurock (Université Côte d’Azur) Special session with UNESCO Dafna Feinholz (Chief of the Bioethics and Ethics of Science and Technology Section, UNESCO.)
11.30 AM-12.30AM
Chair: Marina Teller (Université Côte d’Azur) Human-centric Artificial Intelligence and Education John Shawe-Taylor (UNESCO Chair in AI/ University College London, UK / IRCAI, Slovenia)

12.30 AM-2 AM: lunch

2PM -3 PM
Chair: Grégori Jean (Université Côte d’Azur) Rule-Following: AI and Education Today Juliet Floyd (Boston University Center for the Humanities, Boston University, USA)
3 PM-4 PM
AI, democracy and the humanistic self Piergiorgio Donatelli (Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy)

4PM-4.30 PM Coffee break

4.30PM-5.30 PM
Chair: Ludovic Dibiaggio (Skema, Université Côte d’Azur) Thought Experiments on AI as a Tool of Education for Democracy Sylvie Allouche, Lyon Catholic University, ERC DEMOSERIES (Université Paris 1 PanthéonSorbonne)

Friday September 29 (10 AM-5PM)
10AM-11AM
Chair: Marguerida Romero (Université Côte d’Azur) How AI in the classroom can harm education for democracy, and what to do about it James E. Katz (Boston University, USA)
11 AM-12AM AI as a hatred of democracy? Anthony Masure (Geneva University of Art and Design HEAD – Genève, HES-SO) and Florie Souday (ENS Paris Saclay)

12 AM-2PM Lunch

2PM-3.30 PM
Chair Damien Lacroux (CRHI, Université Côte d’Azur) Two case studies: 1. Global Observatoires 2. Open Education for a Better World Mentoring Program: The impact and challenges related to the AI and education for democracy Mitja Jermol (UNESCO Chair on Open Technologies for Open Educational Resources and Open Education/ IRCAI, Slovenia)

3.30PM-4.00 PM: break

4PM-5 PM General discussion and perspectives

Abstracts of the presentations

Download abstracts of conference presentations