To encourage research in artificial intelligence ethics, social media giant Facebook announced the selection of six projects from India that will focus on three key areas — governance, cultural diversity and operationalising ethics.
AI technological developments pose intricate and complex ethical questions that the industry alone cannot answer, and that is why research questions in the application of AI should be addressed by independent academic research institutions along with the companies building and deploying the technology. To support these beliefs, Facebook had announced the Ethics in AI research awards in June with a regional focus of India.
The RFP was open to academic institutions, think tanks, and research organizations registered and operational in India. Applicants were asked to submit proposals that took into consideration the following themes:
- Operationalizing Ethics / Explainability / Fairness
- Governance
- Cultural Diversity
After an internal review, the shortlisted candidates were sent to an external review board consisting of Professor Sudeshna Sarkar (IIT Kharagpur), Sunil Abraham (CIS), and Bharath Visweswariah (Omidyar Network). This review board selected the top two submissions in each category; these are listed below, under each of their topics.
Research Award Winners
Operationalizing Ethics / Explainability / Fairness
Patient-Centric Frameworks for the Evaluation of AI-Enabled Medical Tests
PI: Amit Sethi, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay)
Collaborators: Swapnil Rane and Zakia Khan, Tata Memorial Centre
Targeted Bias in Indian Media Outlets
PI: Animesh Mukherjee, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur)
Collaborators: Pawan Goyal and Souvic Chakraborty, IIT Kharagpur
Governance
Ethical Implications of Delegating Decision-making Journey to AI Systems
PI: Dr Rahul De’, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM Bangalore)
Collaborator: Sai Dattathrani, IIM Bangalore
A ‘Public Law of Information’ for India
PI: Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Centre for Law and Policy Research
Cultural Diversity
Mitigating Bias in Face Recognition for Vast Regional Diversity in India
PI: Richa Singh, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology-Delhi (IIT-Delhi)
Collaborator: Mayank Vatsa, IIIT-Delhi
Regulatory Impact Assessment of the National AI Market Place of India
PI: Varadharajan Sridhar, International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIT Bangalore)
Collaborator: Shrisha Rao, IIIT Bangalore
