The HAL 9000 Dilemma: exploring AI-enhanced surveillance

The panel will host short talks followed by a critical discussion on the future of online surveillance in a virtual ecosystem that is increasingly marked by automated tracking and data collection.

The role of machine learning in this contemporary process is quickly becoming a major concern, especially with regards to the possibility of GAI becoming ubiquitous to online monitoring. What is the future of online sociality in a world increasingly regulated by surveillance machines? Would machine learning replace rigorous human verification and confirmation of security threats at the collective and individual levels? How will surveillance machines change people's behaviour on- and maybe also offline? Is there an AI arms race between 'white' and 'black' hackers, who keep seeking more efficient forms of tracking threats or opportunities online? How will this standoff influence the kinds of data users produce or extract online? What is the impact of AI on the emergent field of OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) and recent developments in DevSecOps (Development Security Operations) protocols? Will AI enhance or mitigate existing sociocultural biases that undergird these fields of practice as this relates to privacy issues, cybercrime, and information security at large? And what kinds of rationale, reasoning or other logical structures will be developed because of the wider use of AI?

Bringing together humanity scholars and technologists, the panel will provide divergent points of view on these questions as they are currently debated by researchers from different disciplines.

Although many of the King's Festival of Artificial Intelligence events are suitable for a wide audience, including the general public, participants will get the most out of this if they have a high level of knowledge or interest in the area.

Speakers

Dr Matan Shapiro is a Social Anthropologist currently researching synoptic surveillance as part of the ERC-funded SAMCOM Project at the department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London.

Professor Luca Viganò is Professor at the Department of Informatics of King's College London, UK, where he heads the Cybersecurity Group. His research focuses on formal methods and tools for the specification, verification and testing of cybersecurity and privacy. He is particularly interested in formal analysis of socio-technical systems, where security depends intrinsically on human users, and in explainable cybersecurity, where, in addition to more formal approaches, he has been investigating how different kinds of artworks can be used to explain cybersecurity and how telling (i.e., explaining notions in a formal, technical way) can be paired with showing through visual storytelling or other forms of storytelling. Luca is also a playwright and screenwriter. His works have been published and produced in Italy, the UK and Russia. His first short film in English, “The First”, explores a future scenario where the rights of sentient beings clash with freedom, identity and ethical judgment.

Dr Claire Dungey is a postdoctoral researcher at King’s College London. She has a PhD in anthropology from Aarhus University in Denmark, and has conducted research about schooling, family life and children’s journeys to school in various regions globally – such as in Uganda, Lesotho and Germany. Her research interests include children and young people’s mobilities, family monitoring and surveillance, as well as children’s aspirations and engagement with education.

Dr Jennifer Cearns is an Affiliate Research Fellow of the Centre of Digital Anthropology at UCL and an Associate Researcher of the Alan Turing Institute, whose research addresses AI in the realm of the (inter)subjective. Her current project examines the impact of AI on human relations, and considers how AI might simulate empathy within the context of digital mental healthcare. She is author of Circulating Culture (University of Florida Press, 2023) and co-editor of Contraband Cultures (UCL Press, 2024).

Sanja Mrksic Kovacevic is a PhD candidate at the University of Stavanger, Norway. She has background in Economics, Engineering Management and Risk Management and she is currently working on developing a risk science approach to managing and communicating uncertainty in the Big Data age. She is a PhD board member of the Society for Risk Analysis Europe - Nordic Chapter.

Matt Adams is a CISSP and CCSP certified Enterprise Security Architect with a passion for Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its applications in cyber security. He has a proven track record in designing, assessing, and implementing robust security solutions to safeguard business-critical assets. He has also developed several tools that leverage Generative AI technologies to address challenges in cyber security, including Threat Modelling and Security Awareness.

Rob Morgan is a writer, designer, consultant and researcher across VR, AR, mixed reality and immersive theatre, and is founder and Creative Director of AR design studio Playlines. Rob writes and narrative-designs award-winning immersive experiences, and has helped create story worlds and XR installations for some of the world's largest licenses, attractions and cultural institutions. He is a pioneer of Mixed Reality theatre, and as a game writer has helped create some of the most critically-acclaimed games in VR and interactive narrative. Rob is currently a Visiting Fellow at King’s College London, researching and prototyping location-based digital narratives, and he is a founding director of the XRrchiving conference on immersive technology for galleries, libraries, museums and archives. His upcoming book ‘Augmenting Imagination: Storytelling for Mixed Reality and Spatial Computing’ is due Sept 2024 from Routledge.

This event is in-person only. Please register on Eventbrite.

This event is part of the King's Festival of Artificial Intelligence, running from Tuesday 21 to Saturday 25 May 2024.

If you’re interested in this event, you may also want to join us for:

• From welfare to tenant state? State-tech relations in the age of AI
• Facing AI: mitigating the impact of AI in the workplace

Festival event times may be subject to change. Any changes will be communicated to registrants via Eventbrite emails.

Please note, King's events are free, which means we routinely overbook to allow for no-shows and avoid empty seats. Admission is on a first come, first served basis, so please arrive in good time to avoid disappointment. We will not be able to admit those without tickets or latecomers.