Session 5 - Working Together: How Citizens, Companies, Governments, and Researchers should Help Shape AI, Data and Robotics

MODERATOR

Senior and Postdoctoral Researcher at LSTS, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Dr. Desara Dushi is a senior postdoctoral researcher in law at the Law, Science, Technology & Society Research Group (LSTS) of Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). An expert at the intersection of law and technology, she focuses her research on human rights in the digital age, privacy and data protection, cybercrime, online child safety, AI, the implications of legal technologies in the rule of law and fundamental rights, and Internet governance. She holds a double PhD in Law, Science, and Technology from the University of Bologna and the University of Luxembourg. Before joining VUB, she worked as an assistant professor at Epoka University and as an advisor to the Minister of Justice of Albania.

SPEAKER

Senior Policy Lead at Data Tank

Anna is a researcher working at the intersections of democratic processes, data and AI. She is currently the Senior Policy Lead at The Data Tank, an organisation using evidence and action to champion a holistic approach to re-using data to improve people’s lives.

Before joining The Data Tank, she was the Public Participation and Research Lead at the Ada Lovelace Institute. Her role focused on ensuring public perspectives and experiences are embedded in both decision-making processes and research in rigorous, inclusive and meaningful ways.

Prior to joining Ada, Anna managed the research on democratic innovations at Democratic Society, including the evaluation of deliberative mini-publics across the European Union and the UK. She has also been Director of Innovations and Learning at Africa’s Voices Foundation and worked as a Senior Research Manager at BBC Media Action. Anna holds a PhD in Political Science from The Open University, where she has applied an intersectional lens to understanding how instant messaging mediates citizenship capabilities. 

SPEAKER

Research and Innovation Attaché at Quebec Delegation in Brussels

SPEAKER

Executive Director, Competitiveness and Innovation - City of Tampere

Teppo Rantanen, Director for competitiveness and innovation at the City of Tampere, is responsible for several city-wide development programs, with a particular focus on smart city themes [such as the Data-Driven City for Citizens initiative], that shape the strategic economic policy of the city. He leads Tampere through collaboration in extensive international networks toward a metaverse city with a human-centric perspective. From 2002 to 2014 Teppo served as Deloitte Finland’s Chief Executive Officer and from 2014 to 2016 in London as a member of Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Leadership Team. He is currently sitting on the board of Business Finland which is helping Finnish companies to grow and succeed globally.

Teppo and his team from the City of Tampere were receiving the World Smart City Award in the Enabling Technologies category at Smart City Expo World Congress taking place in Barcelona in 2023.

SPEAKER

Professor in Ethics and Technology at the TU Delft and member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Ibo van de Poel is Professor in Ethics and Technology at the TU Delft, The Netherlands and member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. He researches ethical issues in technology. He has published on how AI may embed certain values and how we can design it for social and moral values. He has a special interest how relevant values may change over time and for how we should govern emerging technologies. Het has contributed to a report for the European parliament on the ethical and societal challenges of augmented/virtual reality, AI, IoT, robotics, blockchain, and 5/6G.