Voting for safe AI with postcards

AI in Action

Patricia McAlernon

Is Artificial Intelligence an Alien? I was asked this question at the end of a lecture in the Johnston Central Library during the Cavan Monaghan Science Festival.

‘How AI can help you’ was the title of my presentation which was attended by about 30 adults. The audience consisted of persons aged 50 and over who wanted to ask questions about AI in the safe environment of a library. Daniel Peeters, a driver of digitalisation through Cavan Connects, had kindly prepared a handout which included over 10 articles about AI I had written as a columnist for The Anglo-Celt. It was an opportunity to meet some of my readers and recruit new ones. I presented AI as a tool, assistant and skill to a group of people who were there to be reassured AI was not a threat, and certainly not an alien.

Libraries throughout Ireland offer workshops on AI for older adults under a national initiative called Age-Friendly AI. A postcard campaign called “AI Opinions” was launched in September and runs until the end of December. The freepost postcards can be found in the Cavan town library.

The National Standards Authority Ireland (NSAI), who attend global meetings on AI standardisation, use the input collected from the postcards to create standards which build trust and confidence in AI technologies for everyone including the older adult. Three questions are included on the ‘AI Opinions’ postcard; What are your hopes for AI? What are your biggest concerns about AI? What ideas do you have for making AI more age friendly?

I have attended three global AI meetings as part of the Irish delegation to vote on the standardisation of AI. All the delegates were from companies and organisations using AI. A representative from the NSAI was also present who would have been well briefed on concerns of the older adult in Ireland. The ‘AI Opinions’ postcard is your way to cast a vote on the global regulation and standardisation of AI.

Postcard campaigns are not new to Ireland. The Irish suffragette campaign (1908-1918) used postcards to gain votes for women. Postcards have been regarded as the first global social network and a way to stay connected while travelling and sharing experiences. Nowadays people are using other more modern social network platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to connect with friends and family while on holiday. Some people remain loyal to the postcard and spend time writing a few words on the back of a conventional printed image of their holiday resort. The receiver of the postcard feels more connected to the sender and the thought of them spending time buying the card and postage stamp seems more genuine and personalised.

AI software is available which can create digital postcards for personal use or marketing campaigns. I’m not certain if the ‘AI Opinions’ postcard available in libraries across the country was generated using AI.

Is Artificial Intelligence an alien? No, it’s built by humans.

What would an AI-generated postcard look like with these prompts? The resulting postcard was certainly eye catching.