AI, Media & Democracy Lab Receives ELSA Lab Status
Publication date: 2021-07-15
The Dutch AI Coalition (NL AIC) has awarded ELSA Lab status to the AI, Media & Democracy Lab, a collaboration between the UvA, HvA, CWI, media partners, social partners and the municipality of Amsterdam. ELSA Lab status is a formal recognition of the quality of a given undertaking which is in line with the ambitions and strategic goals of the Dutch AI Coalition.
At the AI, Media & Democracy Lab researchers will investigate various aspects of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the media. For example: How to build more people-oriented and more diverse systems? What can be the role of chatbots in news recommenders? How can the way in which political parties try to influence us online be made more transaparent?
The NL AIC is intended to strengthen the Dutch AI landscape. The aim is to enable the Netherlands to reap the social and economic benefits of AI and to take its place among the international frontrunners in the field. Accordingly, ELSA Lab status is intended for activities that strengthen the Netherlands through research, education and innovation in AI.
One of six ELSA Labs
The concept of ELSA Labs was introduced by the NL AIC at the end of 2019. ELSA stands for Ethical, Legal and Societal Aspects. ELSA Labs are intended to work together with companies, government, knowledge institutions, social organisations and citizens to jointly develop responsible applications for AI. This involves solutions to both social and business problems, with a focus on honesty, justice, security and above all trustworthiness. The AI, Media & Democracy Lab is one of the first six labs to receive ELSA status.
NL AIC: “As an ELSA Lab, the AI, Media & Democracy Lab will work on the concrete challenges facing the sector today, combining this with groundbreaking research at the intersection of social sciences, law, humanities and computer science. This not only creates enormous opportunities for new research, but also for the media sector and civil society to take advantage of the enormous innovation potential of AI.”
About the AI, Media & Democracy Lab
The AI, Media & Democracy Lab is a collaboration between the research teams of the UvA’s Human(e) AI and ICDS - Information, Communication and the Data Society (itself a collaboration between the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) and the Institute for Information Law (IViR), the CWI research groups Human-Centered Data Analytics, Distributed and Interactive Systems and Intelligent and Autonomous Systems, and the HvA research groups Responsible IT, Network Cultures, Civic Interaction Design, Creative Media for Social Change and Visual Methodologies.
More Information
- Earlier news item with the announcement of the AI, Media & Democracy Lab
