CXI was created to proliferate the ideals of responsible participant design, data agency and metrics of economic prosperity prioritizing people and the planet over profit and productivity.

A Vision for Responsible Participant Design

The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) and MIT have joined forces to launch a global Council on Extended Intelligence (CXI) composed of individuals who agree on the following:

One of the most powerful narratives of modern times is the story of scientific and technological progress. While our future will undoubtedly be shaped by the use of existing and emerging technologies – in particular, of autonomous and intelligent systems (A/IS) – there is no guarantee that progress defined by “the next” is beneficial. Growth for humanity’s future should not be defined by reductionist ideas of speed or size alone but as the holistic evolution of our species in positive alignment with the environmental and other systems comprising the modern algorithmic world.

We believe all systems must be responsibly created to best utilize science and technology for tangible social and ethical progress. Individuals, businesses and communities involved in the development and deployment of autonomous and intelligent technologies should mitigate predictable risks at the inception and design phase and not as an afterthought. This will help ensure these systems are created in such a way that their outcomes are beneficial to society, culture and the environment.

Autonomous and intelligent technologies also need to be created via participatory design, where systems thinking can help us avoid repeating past failures stemming from attempts to control and govern the complex-adaptive systems we are part of. Responsible living with or in the systems we are part of requires an awareness of the constrictive paradigms we operate in today. Our future practices will be shaped by our individual and collective imaginations and by the stories we tell about who we are and what we desire, for ourselves and the societies in which we live.

These stories must move beyond the “us versus them” media mentality pitting humans against machines. Autonomous and intelligent technologies have the potential to enhance our personal and social skills; they are much more fully integrated and less discrete than the term “artificial intelligence” implies. And while this process may enlarge our cognitive intelligence or make certain individuals or groups more powerful, it does not necessarily make our systems more stable or socially beneficial.

This is why:

“The most critical question in the time of so-called “intelligent” technologies and systems is how to use them in order to reinvigorate, and not to undermine human autonomy, agency and self-determination at an individual and – most importantly – at a collective level. This desire is the driving force behind the creation of the global Council on Extended Intelligence.”

– Konstantinos Karachalios

We cannot create sound governance for autonomous and intelligent systems in the Algorithmic Age while utilizing reductionist methodologies. By proliferating the ideals of responsible participant design, data symmetry and metrics of economic prosperity prioritizing people and the planet over profit and productivity, The Council on Extended Intelligence will work to transform reductionist thinking of the past to prepare for a flourishing future.

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Three Priority Areas to Fulfill Our Vision

The Council on Extended Intelligence has identified three major priority areas[2] that urgently need a concerted global effort by broad societal constituencies in order to:

1 – Build a new narrative for intelligent and autonomous technologies inspired by principles of systems dynamics and design.

“Extended Intelligence” is based on the hypothesis that intelligence, ideas, analysis and action are not formed in any one individual collection of neurons or code. By leveraging principles of systems dynamics and design, developers can guide the integration of increasingly powerful algorithms and machines into present and future systems in a way that increases their robustness and prevents the reinforcement of negative systemic biases. This would align with the flourishing of all humans involved in such systems or affected by them and with the preservation of our natural environment.

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2 – Reclaim our digital identity in the algorithmic age

Business models based on tracking behavior and using outdated modes of consent are compounded by the appetites of states, industries and agencies for all data that may be gathered. Such widespread surveillance, combined with social-engineering techniques, has eroded trust and can ultimately lead to authoritarianism and the proliferation of systems that reinforce systemic biases rather than correct them. The Council is actively working against this paradigm – in which people have no agency over their identity and their data – as being fundamentally at odds with an open and free society.

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3 – Rethink our metrics for success

Although very widely used, concepts of exponential growth and productivity such as the gross domestic product (GDP) index are insufficient to holistically measure societal prosperity. What we measure reflects the paradigm that governs setting goals and measuring success. Current indexes prioritizing short-term gains tend therefore to reinforce economic and societal models of the Industrial Revolution era. Under current circumstances, progress in autonomous and intelligent technologies is likely to further reinforce the dynamics of such short-term returns-oriented systems, thus increasing inequality and social tensions and further concentrating wealth and power among an ever-smaller class of privileged people.

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[2] Based on a submission by Konstantinos Karachalios to the Conference “AI, Intelligent Machines, Smart Policies”. 26-27 October 2017. OECD, Paris

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Our Next Steps

To proliferate the ideals of responsible participant design, data agency, and metrics of economic prosperity prioritizing people and the planet over profit and productivity CXI will pursue the following projects:

Extended Intelligence
Awareness and Action

This project will focus on creating an introduction to Extended Intelligence and Participatory Design. To avoid reductionism, these articles, webinars, and curriculum will help organizations build a new narrative for autonomous and intelligent technologies inspired by principles of systems dynamics and design.

Digital Identity
Democracy by Design

This project will create a Data Policy template for governments and organizations to utilize in helping individuals and society reclaim their digital identity in the algorithmic age. Realizing the difficulties with creating a “one-size-fits-all” global solution, CXI will focus on providing general best practices for evolved identity recommendations (Personal Identification Management Systems, Blockchain, etc.) that can be adapted based on country-specific and other contextual considerations.

Enlightened Indicators
Measuring What’s Good Versus Simply Growth

This project will create a Wellbeing Indicator template for governments and organizations to utilize in helping society redefine and reprioritize genuine metrics of prosperity to benefit us all. CXI will focus on providing general recommendations and best practices based on established indicators (such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Better Life Index and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) for their template.

Report

The Case for Extended Intelligence

Technological Advancement in Service of People and Planet

The Case for Extended Intelligence represents the first manifestation of the work of The Council on Extended Intelligence. Featuring the insights of CXI’s Project Teams and Membership working since June of 2018, the report frames how CXI initially believes Extended Intelligence can be fully realized, measured and evaluated:

1. Extended Intelligence. This section provides the initial basis for our philosophical approach, along with the pragmatic framing of Extended Intelligence as developed by CXI Members. The pragmatic framing is what will be utilized for the three “CXI in Action” programs taking place in 2019.

2. Digital Agency and Democracy. This section provides a background and framing on the need for human “digital twins” that mirror our individual and collective values. When accessible and controllable by individuals, truly participatory Extended Intelligence can exist.

3. Developing Enlightened Indicators of Sustainable Human Progress. This section provides an introduction to emerging technology enabled approaches to measuring human progress beyond purely economic metrics. The benefits of Extended Intelligence must be measured in worth not exclusively limited to material wealth.

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The Case for Extended Intelligence is being launched as a Request For Input (RFI) via survey questions reflected throughout the report. All are welcome to participate in the survey and responses will be featured in CXI work to come later in 2019.

Our Members

Greg Adamson – Associate Professor, University of Melbourne

Micah Altman – Director of Research, MIT Libraries. Head Scientist, Program on Information Science

Azeem Azhar – Founder & Investor, Exponential View

Chelsea Barabas – MIT Media Lab, Research Scientist

Karen Bartleson – IEEE President 2017

Chris Bavitz – Harvard Law School, WilmerHale Clinical Professor of Law

Sophia Adams Bhatti – The Law Society, Director of Legal and Regulatory Policy, UK

Ryan Budish – Harvard University, Assistant Research Director, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society

Joy Buolamwini – MIT Media Lab, Graduate Researcher

Craig Campbell – Assistant Director for Policy & Operations at the Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics

Anne Carblanc – Head of OECD Division on Digital Economy Policy

Vint Cerf – Google, Internet Pioneer (VP)

Raja Chatila – Professor, Sorbonne Université – Paris & Chair, The IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems

Kade Crockford – American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Director, Technology for Liberty Program

Paul R. Daugherty – Accenture, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer

Karthik Dinakar – MIT Media Lab, Research Scientist

Katryna Dow – Meeco, CEO & Founder

Jim Dratwa – European Commission & Woodrow Wilson Center

Nicolas Economou – Chief executive, H5; co-chair, Law Committee, IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems

Riane Eisler – Center for Partnership Studies, President

Arisa Ema – Assistant Professor, Policy Alternatives Research Institute, University of Tokyo & Visiting Researcher, RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project

Daniel Faggella – CEO, Emerj Artificial Intelligence Research

Ling Fan – Founder & CEO, Tezign.com, Founding Director, Tongji University Design A.I. Laboratory

Kay Firth-Butterfield – World Economic Forum, Head, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at World Economic Forum

Mahmud Farooque – Clinical Associate Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society; Associate Director, Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes-DC; Arizona State University

Urs Gasser – Executive Director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and a Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School

Lord Anthony Giddens – UK House of Lords, Member

Amandeep S. Gill – Executive Director, Secretariat of UNSG High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation

D. Fox Harrell – Professor of Digital Media and AI, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Comparative Media Studies Program; Director, MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality

John C. Havens – Executive Director, CXI & The IEEE Global A/IS Ethics Initiative

Erica Haybron – External Partnerships Liaison, Accenture Responsible AI

Cesar A. Hidalgo – MIT Media Lab, Director, Collective Learning Group

Cyrus Hodes – Advisor to the Minister of Artificial Intelligence (UAE) and co-founder AI Initiative @ The Future Society

Joichi Ito

Eva Kaili – European Parliament, Member of the European Parliament, Head of the Hellenic Delegation for the Progressive Alliance of S&D, Chair Scientific Foresight Unit STOA, Chair EU-NATO Delegation

Konstantinos Karachalios – Managing Director, IEEE Standards Association

Anja Kaspersen – Director, Intrapreneur, Storyteller, Techplomat

Ibram X. Kendi – Professor and Director, The Antiracist Research & Policy Center, American University

Baroness Beeban Kidron – Member of House of Lords, Chair 5Rights Foundation

Benjamin Koo – Founder of Extreme Learning Process (XLP), Tsinghua University

Varun Krovi – Deputy Chief of Staff & Legislative Director, U.S. House of Representatives

Eileen Lach – IEEE Global Initiative, Member, Executive Committee

Lawrence Lessig– Harvard Law School, Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership

Steve Mann – Chairman and CEO, MannLab.com

Vikash Mansinghka – MIT Probabilistic Computing Project, Principal Investigator

Karren McCabe – Senior Director, Public Affairs and Marketing, IEEE Standards Association

Nicolas Miaihe – Co Founder & President, The Future Society; Senior Visiting Research Fellow, Program on Science Technology & Society, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

Katina Michael – Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society and School of Computing, Informatics and Decision Systems Engineering. Director, Engineering, Policy & Society, Arizona State University. Founding editor of IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society.

Martha Minow – Harvard Law School, Carter Professor of General Jurisprudence

Margarita Mora – Community partnerships, Nia Tero / CI / Directors Fellow MIT Media Lab

Catelijne Muller – Member of the EU High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence

Neha Narula – Director, Digital Currency Initiative, MIT Media Lab

Paul Nemitz – European Commission, Principal Adviser

Dr. Clara Neppel – Senior Director, IEEE European Business Operations

Takeo Nishikata – MIT Media Lab, Visiting Scientist, NRI

Neri Oxman – MIT Media Lab, Sony Corporation Career Development Professor and Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences

Eleonore Pauwels – Research Fellow on Emerging Cybertechnologies, United Nations University and Director of the AI Lab, Wilson Center

Jonnie Penn – Harvard University, Affiliate, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society

Alex “Sandy” Pentland – MIT Media Lab, Director, Human Dynamics Group

Rosalind Picard – MIT Media Lab, Founder and Director, Affective Computing Research Group

Edson Prestes – Professor, Informatics Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Tenzin Priyadarshi – MIT Media Lab, Director, Ethics Initiative

Iyad Rahwan – MIT Media Lab, Associate Professor

Kate Raworth – Senior Visiting Research Associate, Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University

Julia Reda – Member of the European Parliament, Access to Knowledge Advocate

Sara Rendtorff-Smith – MIT Media Lab, Research Scientist & MIT Probabilistic Computing Project, Applied Research Lead for Data-driven Governance and AI Policy

Marc Rosen – Producer at Village Roadshow (studio that produced READY PLAYER ONE, MAD MAX, THE MATRIX); First executive in LA at Heyday Films (HARRY POTTER, GRAVITY) having produced deals in film and TV at Warner Bros, Paramount, and CBS. Recently finished the series SENSE8 on Netflix with the Wachowskis.

Jeffrey Sachs – The Center for Sustainable Development, Director

Ken Sakamura – Dean, INIAD, Toyo University, Chair, TRON Forum

Fr. Eric Salobir – Optic Technology, President

Natalie Saltiel – Program Manager, Ethics & Governance of AI Fund

Anjali Sastry – MIT Sloan School of Management, Senior Lecturer

Ali Shah – BBC, Head of Emerging Technology and Strategic Direction

Alpesh Shah – Sr. Director, Global Business Strategy & Intelligence, IEEE Standards Association

Kevin Slavin – Founding CTO and Artistic Advisor, The Shed / Research Affiliate and Founder, Playful Systems Group, MIT Media Lab

Sarah Spiekermann – Vienna University of Economics and Business, Professor for Information Systems

Dr. Elisabeth Stampfl-Blaha – Austrian Standards, Standardization Strategist

Audrey Tang – Digital Minister, Taiwan

Hruy Tsegaye – Founder, iCog Labs

Andre Uhl – Harvard University, Ph.D. Candidate

Andrew Updegrove – Gesmer Updegrove LLP, Partner

Stephen Welby – IEEE, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer

Danielle Wood – MIT Media Lab, Director of the Space Enabled Research Group

Don Wright – President IEEE Standards Association 2016-2018

Lan Xue – Dean of School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University

Jonathan Zittrain – Harvard Law School, George Bemis Professor of International Law

Hear from Our Members

Martha Minow - Harvard Law School, Carter Professor of General Jurisprudence
Konstantinos Karachalios - Managing Director, IEEE Standards Association
Tenzin Priyadarshi | Global CXI

Frequently Asked Questions

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Press

Ethically Aligned Design, Version 1

IEEE Launches Ethically Aligned Design, First Edition, Delivering ‘A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent Systems’

EEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, and the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) today announced the launch of the first edition of Ethically Aligned Design (EAD1e), “A Vision for Prioritizing Human Well-being with Autonomous and Intelligent Systems.” EAD1e is available from The IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems, which produced the document…

MIT and IEEE Partner to Advance Extended Intelligence

Innovation is entering a new stage of maturity as a range of academic and industry organizations ponder the impacts of autonomous and intelligent systems.  There’s a lot of discussion about autonomous and intelligent systems these days, but few realize the impact those technologies will soon have on technology design and use. Already, formal and informal groups are debating the potential impacts of AI systems with the goal of articulating values, principles, and best practices that help guide the responsible design and use of such systems.

A plea for AI that serves humanity instead of replacing it

SIXTY-TWO YEARS AGO this summer, Dartmouth professor John McCarthy coined the term artificial intelligence. Joi Ito, director of MIT’s Media Lab, has come to think it’s unhelpful.  Talk of AI has become hard to avoid due to surging investment from companies hoping to profit from advances in machine learning. Ito believes the term has also become tainted by the assumption that humans and machines must be in opposition—think debates about jobs stolen by robots, or superintelligence threatening humanity…

Photo: BSIP/UIG/GETTY IMAGES

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