Generative AI: Ethics and Governance
A Conference Hosted by the K&L Gates Initiative on Ethics and Computational Technologies at Carnegie Mellon University
Monday, March 10 - Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Generative AI is poised to create massive economic and societal impacts across a wide range of domains. This conference sought to illuminate the new ethical considerations and societal implications of the technology and elucidate the pros and cons of existing approaches to the governance of the technology to ensure safe, responsible and ethical use.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
DJ Patil
General Partner, GreatPoint Ventures (former U.S Chief Data Scientist)DJ Patil is an entrepreneur, investor, scientist, and leader in public policy. He has held senior roles in industry, academia, and government, and his work has been featured in two Michael Lewis books (The Fifth Risk and Premonition). As a General Partner at GreatPoint Ventures, he focuses on building companies in healthcare, enterprise technologies, and national security. Notable early-stage investments include Figma, Confluent, Ola in India, Monte Carlo, Chronosphere, Sumologic, RelateIQ, Peoplehood, and Rebellion Defense. Previously, he led the product teams at RelateIQ, acquired by Salesforce, and was a founding board member.
Natasha Crampton
Vice President and Chief Responsible AI Officer, Microsoft CorporationNatasha Crampton leads Microsoft’s Office of Responsible AI as the company’s first Chief Responsible AI Officer. The Office of Responsible AI defines and governs the company’s approach to responsible AI, and contributes to the discussion about the new laws, norms, and standards that are needed to secure the benefits of AI and guard against its risks. In her personal capacity, Natasha serves on the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence, which is advancing recommendations for the international governance of AI. Before establishing Microsoft’s Office of Responsible AI, Natasha served as lead counsel to the Aether Committee, Microsoft’s advisory committee on responsible AI. Natasha also spent seven years in Microsoft’s Australian and New Zealand subsidiaries helping highly regulated customers move to the cloud.
CONFERENCE SESSION RECORDINGS
Opening Sessions - Day 1
Introduction and framing of the conference by several speakers
Fireside Chat with DJ Patil
DJ Patil and Theresa Mayer discussed the challenges and importance of responsible AI governance, emphasizing collaboration between academia, industry, and policymakers for ethical advancements in technology.
Panel Discussion - Ethics of Generative AI: New Issues and Challenges
This panel explored the new ethical concerns that arise with the use of GenAI (compared to conventional predictive AI).
K&L Gates Fellows Lightning Talks
Short presentations highlighting research projects by recipients of the K&L Gates Presidential Fellowship.
Panel Discussion: Governmental Policies on Generative AI
This panel examined the current governmental policies and guidelines for ensuring the ethical and responsible use of Generative AI.
Panel Discussion: Industry and Organizational Governance of Generative AI
This panel explored the internal organizational governance structures in major AI firms and how they map to international/federal requirements.
Opening Sessions - Day 2
Introduction and framing of the conference by several speakers
Keynote Presentation and Fireside Chat with Natasha Crampton
Natasha Crampton’s keynote focused on responsible AI governance and Microsoft’s proactive efforts in shaping responsible AI practices amidst rapid technological advancements.
Panel Discussion: Governing the Impacts of GenAI Across Sectors and Domains
This panel brought together experts to discuss the impacts of Generative AI in education, employment, medicine, and the environment and effective domain-specific governance mechanisms for mitigating harms and maximizing benefits.
SPEAKERS AND PANELISTS (in alphabetical order)
Atoosa Kasirzadeh
Assistant Professor of Philosophy & Software and Societal Systems (by courtesy), Carnegie Mellon University
Carol J Smith
Trust Lab Lead/Principal Research Scientist, Human Machine Interaction, Carnegie Mellon University
Francesca Rossi
IBM AI Ethics Global Leader and Distinguished Research Staff Member at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Lab.
Jesse Dunietz
AI Standards, Policy, and International Engagement Lead, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Jodi Forlizzi
Professor, Computer Science Department, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, School of Computer Science, Carngie Mellon University
Lorrie Cranor
Professor, Engineering & Public Policy and School of Computer Science, Carngie Mellon University
Mike Doyle
Former United States Congressman and Government Affairs Counselor in Public Policy and Law practice, K&L Gates
