Exploring the Human Side of Artificial Intelligence

An underlying theme emerged from the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence's fall conference: AI must be truly beneficial for humanity and not undermine people in a cold calculus of efficiency. Titled AI Ethics, Policy, and Governance, the event brought together more than 900 people from academia, industry, civil society, and government to discuss the future of AI (or automated computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence). Discussions at the conference highlighted how companies, governments, and people around the world are grappling with AI's ethical, policy, and governance implications. Susan Athey, the Economics of Technology Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business and faculty associate director at Stanford HAI, spoke about AI's impact on the economy. It's critical, she said, that AI creates shared prosperity and expands -- rather than replaces -- the human experience in life and at work.