Organisations must conduct end-to-end audits that consider both the social and technical aspects of artificial intelligence (AI) to fully understand the impacts of any given system, but a lack of understanding around how to conduct holistic audits and the limitations of the process is holding back progress, say algorithmic auditing experts. At the inaugural International Algorithmic Auditing Conference, hosted in Barcelona on 8 November by algorithmic auditing firm Eticas, experts had a wide-ranging discussion on what a "socio-technical" audit for AI should entail, as well as various challenges associated with the process. Attended by representatives from industry, academia and the third sector, the goal of the conference is to create a shared forum for experts to discuss developments in the field and help establish a roadmap for how organisations can manage their AI systems responsibly. Those involved in this first-of-its-kind gathering will go on to Brussels to meet with European Union (EU) officials and other representatives from digital rights organisations, so they can share their collective thinking on how AI audits can and should be regulated for. Gemma Galdon-Clavell, conference chair and director of Eticas, said: "Technical systems, when they're based on personal data, are not just technical, they are socio-technical, because the data comes from comes from social processes."