NEWS On 9 December, Nobel laureates and experts will gather in Stockholm for the Nobel Week Dialogue. This year’s theme is artificial intelligence, and Virginia Dignum, Professor at Umeå University, is one of the invited speakers.
Nobel Week Dialogue 2023. That year's theme was "The Future of Migration".
Image© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Anna SvanbergThe Nobel Week Dialogue is part of the official Nobel Week programme and is always held on the day before the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony. It brings together a select group of the world's leading researchers, policymakers and experts to discuss a topical science-related theme, which this year is “Life With AI”.
Virginia Dignum will participate in a panel alongside several Nobel Prize laureates, including Philippe Aghion, Steven Chu, John Jumper and David MacMillan. She is Professor of Responsible Artificial Intelligence at Umeå University, and leads the AI Policy Lab. She is also senior advisor on AI policy to the Wallenberg Foundations.
Virginia Dignum, Professor at the Department of Computing Science.
ImageHans KarlssonFor Virginia Dignum, taking part in the Nobel Week Dialogue is both an honour and a responsibility. She sees the discussion as an opportunity to highlight the connection between scientific progress and societal consequences.
“AI is often presented as inevitable, as if its direction is set by technological momentum alone. It is not. It is the outcome of human decisions on research priorities, investments, design, deployment and regulation. Recognising this means recognising human agency and responsibility,” she says.
She believes that AI governance is not a brake on innovation, and that progress should not be measured solely in terms of efficiency and technical capability.
“The more relevant question is whether AI contributes to human and societal wellbeing, and for whom. I look forward to reflecting together on where this technology is taking us.”
The Nobel Week Dialogue will take place at House of People in Stockholm on 9 December from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and is open to the public. The event will also be livestreamed on nobelprize.org.