AI Policy Lab Day 2026
- DateThu 26 November 2026
- Time09:00–12:00 CETStockholm time
- VenueMIT BuildingOpen space on the entrance level, Umeå University
- FormatIn person and onlineKeynote and panel can be followed online
AI Policy Lab Day 2026 brings together researchers, educators and students to discuss responsible AI, AI literacy and the role of artificial intelligence in education.
The morning opens with a keynote by Irina Shklovski, Professor of Communication and Computing at the University of Copenhagen on the challenges and limits of Responsible AI. A panel follows, bringing together perspectives from education, philosophy, AI policy and students.
The event is open to everyone, whatever your discipline or background in AI. You can join in person in the MIT Building, or follow the keynote and panel online.
Programme
- 09:00–09:30Welcome and fika
- 09:30–10:30Keynote
Why can’t we get it right? The challenges and limits of Responsible AI
Irina Shklovski Joining onlineProfessor of Communication and Computing, University of CopenhagenRead the abstract
In 1987 Robert Kraut, then a computer scientist at Bell Labs, asked how can technology be designed “to exploit its usefulness without exploiting its users.” Nearly four decades later, we still don’t have an answer. Over the years arguments about technology have moved from concerns about data and privacy, to bias and discrimination in algorithmic systems, to ethical concerns about data driven AI systems. This culminated in a focus on “Responsible AI” – comprising of tools, methods, checklists, standards, compliance evaluations, and ways of thinking. Yet AI systems continue to fail us, plagued by the same problems of bias, privacy concerns, and overhyped promises that consistently fall short. Why do problematic AI systems seem unavoidable and what does it take to create AI “responsibly”? I will discuss the seemingly insurmountable yet persistently overlooked problems of data quality, the complex misalignment between conceptions of ethics and harm and the logics of modularity and scope that underpin technology development, and the increasing challenge of moral stress in technical practice.
About Irina Shklovski
Irina Shklovski is a Professor of Communication and Computing in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Copenhagen. She also holds a WASP-HS visiting professorship in the Department of Thematic Studies, Gender Studies at Linköping University.
Her research examines the relationship between technological infrastructures, institutional practices, and everyday human experience, focusing on responsible and ethical technology design, information privacy, creepy technologies and the sense of powerlessness people experience in the face of massive personal data collection. Current projects explore topics such as data quality, explainable AI, and moral stress in responsible AI development.
- 10:30–11:30Panel discussion
AI in Education: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, AI Literacy and Public Understanding
ModeratorProfessor Virginia Dignum Professor in Responsible Artificial Intelligence, Director of the AI Policy Lab- Eva Mårell-OlssonAssociate Professor, Department of Education, Umeå University
- Tatjana TitarevaStaff Scientist, AI Policy Lab
- Dimitri Coelho MolloAssociate Professor, Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence
- Ali Ramin AtaeiStudent, AI & Philosophy programme, Umeå University
- 11:30–12:00Open discussion and light lunch
Registration
Please register by Friday 20 November if you would like fika and lunch.
Register nowYou are also welcome to register later, but we cannot guarantee catering after this date. Fika and a light lunch are served in the event space. The event takes place in person and online.