Partnership to Advance Responsible Technology (PART)

The EU’s privacy regulators are stepping up to hold Big Tech accountable in AI, putting certain projects on hold and demanding transparency in data practices. This assertive approach has sparked debate: some fear it may slow innovation, while others see it as essential to protecting individual rights in a digital-first world. Europe’s commitment to responsible technology could set a global precedent for AI policy, emphasizing privacy and accountability over unchecked growth. Read more and weigh in on the conversation below: https://lnkd.in/eBCrPQZ8 #ResponsibleTechnology #AIPolicy #PrivacyFirst #EU #DataProtection

I have a lot of ground to cover over at my Substack before I circle back to technology-based economic development, so for now here's a brief shout out to the organizers of last week's giant AI Horizons Pittsburgh confab, meaning (largely but hardly exclusively) the leadership of Walnut Capital. I spent the afternoon there mostly reconnecting face to face with a lot of people I've met over the years in writing and talking about the promises and pitfalls of Big Visions to Renew Former Industrial Regions, including Pittsburgh. Virtual networks can be great and are sometimes all we have. In-person is almost always better. Will doubling down on "AI" bring a brighter future to Pittsburgh, or any region? Who knows. To be honest, I'm a skeptic, though not because of anything inherent to "AI" technologically. More on that later. TL;DR: like a lot of places, Pittsburgh confuses its cluster of engineering and tech resources, which is powerful, with the cluster of finance, management, professional services, and entrepreneurial resources that's needed to bring engineering and tech to economic maturity. In Pittsburgh, that second cluster is weak. The best part of the event was its showcasing new voices emerging in regional leadership. Visions, plans, and investments in Pittsburgh's futures (plural), again as in many of its peer cities, have been captive for too long to a small number of long-standing "usual suspects" - both individuals and organizations - which have little new to offer and which refuse to share the spotlight. Everyone in town knows who they are; they even know who they are. For a decade, at my old Pittsburgh blog (link below), I wrote about who they are. AI Horizons Pittsburgh took some important steps to broaden the conversation - notably by including and spotlighting an organization that I helped to found and now chair: the nonprofit Partnership to Advance Responsible Technology (PART), and our co-founder and Executive Director Lance Lindauer. One of our key staff members was there, too, Mike Zula, along with my board colleague Karen Trader. At the closing plenary, Lance had some specific things to say about Pittsburgh's need to connect its R&D strengths in AI and robotics to investments in national security and defense work. That's a start. There is more work to be done to change the character of Pittsburgh's economic renewal conversation. That means both "who is in the proverbial room" and also "shifting the narrative from the old-school, scarcity-motivated 'divide the pie' mindset that still largely dominates development conversations here to new-school, abundance-motivated 'grow the pie' mindset that needs to take root." No one needs to exit, stage left. But there are new voices taking the stage, and they have to be welcome. Novelty is no panacea. What I wrote in 2011 remains relevant today: https://lnkd.in/e_W5bYMd. To borrow Dickens: I want some more, please. [Added: tagging NEXTpittsburgh in something of an experiment!]

Well, would you look at that? It's almost like Partnership to Advance Responsible Technology (PART) knows what it's talking about 😉 https://lnkd.in/eaQquk3b

Time moves fast and so does the application of artificial intelligence. It is a week since the sold-out AI Horizons Pittsburgh Summit at Bakery Square in Pittsburgh, PA showcased how human-first AI can be commercialized to benefit society – with profit as a byproduct. We thank all our speakers, panelists, moderators, and sponsors. Many are tagged below. We would tag all of them, but the volume exceeds LinkedIn's limit. Pittsburgh holds the biggest cluster of human-centered AI companies, professionals, and initiatives in the world. We look forward to another groundbreaking summit in 2025, a conference that will eclipse this year’s effort. Follow us for updates. Dennis Andersh, Joshua Baer, Klinton Bicknell, Eric Boughner, Andy Carlson, Deepan Chandru Kamaraj, Richard Clarke, Elizabeth Cook, David Bromberg, Robert Cherry, Austin Davis, Joanna Doven, Isaac Faber Ph.D., Lindsay Fairman, Rich Fitzgerald, Jennifer Gilburg, Phil Hahn, Farnam Jahanian, Valerie Karplus, Bruce Katz, Michael Keslar, Zico Kolter, Amir Korangy, Jack Krawczyk, Trey Lauderdale, Lance Lindauer, Don Marinelli, Christopher Martin, Anthony Matarazzo, Michael Mattarock II, Meredith Meyer Grelli, Andrew Moore, Ira Moskowitz, Suresh Mulukutla, Karen Myers, Jessica Yllemo, Peter Panfil, Sarthak Pattanaik, CFA, Hooman Rashidi, Brian Regli, Anthony Robbins, Audrey Russo, Tuomas Sandholm, Beth Schwanke, Russell Schwartz, Laurie Segall, Shane Shaneman, Josh Shapiro, Ameet Talwalkar, Nicholas Thorne, Christopher (Cris) T., and Larry Watson. #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #AIHorizons #Technology #Innovation #Pittsburgh #Pennsylvania

As I announced yesterday at the AI Horizons Pittsburgh Summit--and as covered in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and elsewhere--the Partnership to Advance Responsible Technology (PART) will shortly provide Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Office of Governor Josh Shapiro and other local and state leaders with the tenets of #Pittsburgh's first "AI & Defense Regional Strategy." Funded and supported by InnovatePGH, this is the first pillar to a larger "Deep Tech Strategy", and I look forward to engaging many of you in discussions in the near future. https://lnkd.in/dcDiCYWS

Ahead of our summit next Monday at Bakery Square, Carnegie Mellon University experts weighed in on why they see Pittsburgh as a hub for human-centered AI. https://lnkd.in/eFw27T_C. Click for commentaries from Farnam Jahanian, Meredith Meyer Grelli, Ameet Talwalkar, Russell Schwartz, Michael Mattarock II, Ira Moskowitz, Zico Kolter, and Valerie Karplus. You can also find summit information here: https://aihorizonspgh.com/. #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #AIHorizons #AILeadership #Innovation  #Pittsburgh #Pennsylvania

Finally! With the NVIDIA news now public that it selected #Pittsburgh for its first “AI Tech Community”, I thought of no better place to be on the day for Partnership to Advance Responsible Technology (PART) than at the #AISummit in #DC, supporting several of our public sector partners like Army Artificial Intelligence Integration Center (AI2C).  More to come at AI Horizons Pittsburgh next week. 

Join PART at the AI Horizons Summit Bakery Square in Pittsburgh on October 14th. The Summit will feature global leaders in AI across diverse industries including healthcare, education, defense, and robotics as well as 50+ national and local public policy and community-based leaders. Explore the latest in human-first AI innovation, connect with leaders from academia and industry, and hear from speakers and panelists including Josh Shapiro, Andrew Moore, Farnam Jahanian, and PART's own Lance Lindauer . Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with AI experts and shape the future of responsible technology. Register now to secure your spot: https://aihorizonspgh.com.

Two weeks from today Partnership to Advance Responsible Technology (PART) will keynote "AI for a Better World" at the inaugural AI Horizons Pittsburgh Summit. I co-founded PART in 2018 knowing that the region I've chosen to call home has the potential to positively impact the world through responsible technology. Although the #Pittsburgh region has yet to really develop a comprehensive #AI #strategy--something PART pointed out in its 2022 "Connectivity" report, and in other arenas since--events like this are a step in the right direction. https://lnkd.in/ex3Qqvdr

The U.S., EU, and UK have signed the world's first legally binding international AI treaty, marking a significant step in global AI governance. The Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law aims to regulate AI technologies to ensure they uphold human rights and democratic values. This treaty holds signatories accountable for any harm or discrimination caused by AI, ensuring transparency, fairness, and respect for privacy. It also provides legal recourse for victims of AI-related human rights violations. The treaty was drafted with input from over 50 countries and is seen as a pivotal moment for creating a unified, global approach to AI regulation. This development underscores the importance of ethical AI use, aligning closely with PART’s mission to promote responsible technology in both public and private sectors. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e5TSD2xe Author: Savannah Fortis, Cointelegraph