The Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics (CAIDE) facilitates cross-disciplinary research, teaching and leadership on the ethical, regulatory and legal issues relating to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technologies.
Across Australia and the world, governments, corporations and courts are increasingly relying on algorithms to make decisions about their operations and embracing new technologies to inform their operations. These automated decisions have major effects determining eligibility for government benefits, access to services, pricing and selection of products, job and loan application outcomes, criminal recidivism, or the diagnosis of medical conditions.
While the use of new digital and algorithmic technologies can enhance efficiency and improve the quality of life for all Australians, it can also lead to risks including biased, poor-quality, or unscrutinised decisions. AI challenges our humanity and how we interact with our environment. The advent of new digital technologies and AI raise a number of social, legal, regulatory and technical challenges that transcend domains and require deep, sustained research.
CAIDE News and Events
Our Vision
CADIE seeks to further the ethical use of new digital and AI technology across society by:
- Facilitating cross-disciplinary research, teaching and leadership
- Assisting governments, businesses and community organisations to hold themselves to the highest standards of ethics and equity
- Promoting the fair, safe and accountable use of automated systems
- Ensuring that University of Melbourne graduates and the community are equipped with insight, knowledge and expertise required to deploy automated systems in manner consistent with public and regulatory expectation
Our Approach
We seek to achieve the outcomes by building together a diverse, cross-disciplinary teams to engage in research, research training, teaching and outreach.
The Centre
We bring a cross-disciplinary perspective on the ethical, regulatory and legal issues relating to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technologies. Our research seeks to explore the impact, deployment and governance of this emerging technology across society. Our approach is to combine legal, ethical and social perspectives with technological expertise to examine the issues of these emerging technologies in a holistic manner. We will examine issues of fairness, privacy, accountability and transparency in this emerging technology to further our understanding, but also to guide the development and appropriate policy settings for effective use across society.
Led by Professor Jeannie Paterson (Melbourne Law School) and Professor Tim Miller (Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology) we address these issues in a practical and applied manner with a particularly Australian focus. Our research brings together research expertise of Melbourne Law School, the Melbourne School of Engineering, the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne.
Directors
Centre Staff
- Gabby Bush
Project Officer
Melbourne Law School
University of Melbourne
Members of CAIDE
Our research explores ethical, regulatory and legal issues relating to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technologies.
We bring a cross-disciplinary perspective reflected in the diverse skills and experience of our research teams. This ensures that we can understand and engage in depth with both the technology and its impact across society.
Our research program to tackles the particular challenges and opportunities in Australia and focuses on the following issues: fairness and anti-discrimination, auditing and transparency, accountability and governance, and consent and data privacy
Current Research Projects
Beyond Anthropomorphism? The AI - Machine - Human - Animal continuum
This project is a collaboration between the Centre for AI and Digital Ethics and the Digital Society Initiative at the University of Zurich on the AI - Machine - Human - Animal continuum.
Regulatory mechanisms for protecting reasonable expectations of privacy: the roles of consent and fairness in Australian and Indian Data Protection Law
Professor Jeannie Marie Paterson and Adam Lodders (CAIDE) with Associate Professor Mark Taylor (MLS) and Professor Indranath Gupta, Jindal Global University.
From Pockets to Cockpits: The Cultural Context of Digital Flight Assistants
This research team is lead by Dr Fabio Mattioli, with funding from CAIDE 2020 Seed funding.
The Ethics and Practice of AI Localism at a time of COVID-19 and beyond
Research in collaboration with The Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence (IEAI) at the Technical University of Munich and the GovLab at New York University
AI in the Home?: Understanding how Australians Use Digital Personal Assistants
Professor Jeannie Paterson, Co-Director Centre for AI and Digital Ethics and Professor Megan Richardson, Melbourne Law School
Developing human-centred explanations for decisions made using AI
Henrietta Lyons, PhD Candidate, School of Computing and Information Systems
Online dispute resolution and consumer disputes in Australia
Vivi Tan, PhD Candidate, Melbourne Law School
Digital Analysis of Morality as Cooperation
Dr Marc Cheong, Senior Research Fellow in Digital Ethics, School of Computing and Information Systems
Cyber Law Mapping
Dr Kobi Leins, Senior Research Fellow in Digital Ethics, School of Computing and Information Systems
Animals and Digital Technologies
Dr Simon Coghlan, Senior Research Fellow in Digital Ethics, School of Computing and Information Systems
CAIDE Publications
CAIDE Researchers have published across our areas of expertise in the AI Ethics space.
Study options for students
PhD scholarship to investigate issues of disability, technology and society
The MDI and CAIDE partnership invite proposals from applicants interested in undertaking research into the role of new and emerging technologies in the lives of people with disabilities, and particularly people with intellectual and cognitive disabilities.
AI and the Law Breadth Track
This breadth track is designed to give undergraduates at the University of Melbourne the skills necessary to deal with the technical, ethical and legal challenges that arise in designing, governing and regulating AI that is fair, safe and beneficial to society.
The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
Offered as part of the Masters in Computer Science this subject aims to provide students with the necessary tools to: identify social and ethical issues of digital technology particularly artificial intelligence and reason about these issues; communicate concerns, or discuss ideas, from differing points of view; and ultimately build technology with awareness of, and respect for, inclusion and the responsibility that comes with building powerful tools.
Digital Ethics for Scientists
This subject aims to provide scientists with the practical skills to identify and respond to the ethical challenges posed by new technologies. It will do this through a series of case students that illustrate the ethical dilemmas that may accompany new digital technologies, including through digital platforms, fintech, healthcare and public health, surveillance, policing, and governance applications.
AI, Ethics and the Law (Breadth Subject)
This subject uses interdisciplinary perspectives to investigate AI, ethics and the law. Developing sound ethical, policy and legal responses to AI requires expertise from the technical fields, especially maths, computer science and engineering, and also the social sciences and humanities, including sociology, psychology, criminology, history, ethics, and philosophy.
Juris Doctor Legal Research
CAIDE is offering a second semester JD legal research topic on Regulating AI. The research will explore the role of law in the development of new technologies.
Arts Faculty Internship with CAIDE
The Faculty of Arts offers an internship subject (MULT20010) for undergraduate students. CAIDE has opportunities for students to complete their internship with us.
CAIDE Summer Research Academy 2021
Returning in 2021 for a new PhD and Early Career Researchers.
CAIDE Events
CAIDE News
Short form publications
CAIDE researchers have published a number of short pieces for general audiences
CAIDE Videos
The CAIDE Team have made a series of videos including our 'Three Questions with CAIDE' and our series on 'AI Ethics in Film, Media and Literature.'
Previous event recordings
CAIDE seminars are recorded and shared here, click to watch our previous seminars.
- Address
- Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics
Melbourne Law School
185 Pelham Street
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3053
AUSTRALIA - uom-caide@unimelb.edu.au
- Mailing list
- Subscribe to our mailing list
- Social media
- Twitter: @CAIDE_UoM
- Co-directors
- Professor Jeannie Paterson
Professor Tim Miller