At the Science and Technology in Society (STS) forum annual meeting Serageldin chaired a session on the topic of “Big Data” and its future as a business tool that will increasingly rely on software that is not written by humans but by specialized AI programs. The panel discussed the need for ‘AI governance’, new policies (e.g. privacy, security), new regulations (e.g. who authorizes a robot).
Established in 2004, the STS aims to build a human network, of a very broad a range of participants and organizations, that would, in time, resolve the new types of problems stemming from the application of science and technology. The forum gathers top policymakers, business leaders, scientists, researchers, media leaders and Nobel laureates from all over the world, to address science and technology issues in the 21st century. Around 1200 participants from about 100 countries engage in lively discussions for 3 days every October at the Kyoto International Conference Center. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, is the Honorary Chairman of its Board of Directors. Serageldin was one of the forty founding members of the STS, is a member of the board, and has been a major contributor at each of the annual meetings.