Minderoo-Oxford Challenge Fund in AI Governance

This project was a collaboration with the Upper Norwood Library Hub, The RTI https://www.rti.ox.ac.uk/ and ORBIT RRI https://orbit-rri.org/ to deliver a pilot community lab exploring applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as they may affect society and the local community. The lab at the library in South London aimed to facilitate discussions with local people about the multifarious applications and ramifications of AI in today’s society and to give a voice to people often excluded from discussions around AI, uniquely connecting leading researchers directly with members of the community. 

The community lab featured a series of five public events, with each focused on one facet of AI. The sessions featured experts from Oxford University and ORBIT, and hosted an open public dialogue to enable community members to learn more about how AI is being applied and to critically question its potential impact locally and in the world. The final session was a panel which included local councillors, community activists, and experts that allowed residents to ask their local leaders questions and share their concerns. 

The overarching outcome of the pilot lab was to provide an important blueprint for policymakers and technology researchers to connect directly with members of local communities. It helped to model the ways in which leaders, experts and communities can interact and work together in shaping the future of AI technologies, and generate feedback while new technology is being made. The collaboration was included in written evidence submitted to a recent House of Lords Communications and Digital Select Committee inquiry into Large Language Models. 

The lab also provided an opportunity for people of all generations and socio-economic backgrounds to learn more about how AI works and is being applied, and to share their perspectives with the researchers. Additionally, it offered the chance to inspire a new generation of technologists, giving younger members of the community the opportunity to meet AI experts. The experts themselves were able to learn from the broader community and receive feedback about their research. The lab also highlighted wider community concerns around the application of AI to community leaders. 

The Community Lab also leave legacies in the form of a dedicated webpage hosted in the UNLH website: https://www.uppernorwoodlibraryhub.org/search?q=minderoo from which it will be possible to access both the video of edited highlights from the events and “vox pops” from participants and a report.