ACM FAccT Conference

EPIC’s Ben Winters will participate in a “Critiquing and Rethinking Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency” (CRAFT) session at this year’s ACM FAccT conference. CRAFT is a dedicated track to build bridges from the conference to people who contend with computing systems from many different angles, from journalism and organizing, art and education, to advocacy, governance and beyond. Critique, reflection, and power are at its core, and it provides a unique opportunity within an academic conference to center the impact of technology on communities and the policy implications that arise from that impact.

The “Digital Trade” Sneak Attack on AI Oversight & Regulation Underway Today
Sarah Myers West (AI Now), Lori Wallach (Rethink Trade), Ben Winters (Electronic Privacy Information Center), Jai Vipraa (AI Now), Patrick Woodall (AFL-CIO Technology Institute)

With policymakers increasingly focused on the oversized role that Big Tech has within society and the economy, some dominant tech industry interests are now quietly attempting to use international trade negotiations as a backdoor means to thwart the United States and other governments from enforcing policies to confront the problems caused for workers, competing businesses, consumers and democracy itself by a largely unregulated digital sphere. Of special concern is the industry demand for special secrecy guarantees for algorithms and source codes that could outlaw proactive monitoring and otherwise undermine attempts to safeguard against discriminatory, obtrusive or otherwise harmful misuses of AI. Many algorithmic accountability bills with broad support — and the Biden administration’s own AI Bill of Rights — could run afoul of these potential trade rules. With far-reaching new “digital trade” agreements being negotiated this year, this panel features leading experts in both trade policy and AI policy.