Takeaways from Affectiva’s 2019 Emotion AI Summit: Remembering the Human Side of Artificial Intelligence

Earlier this week Affectiva hosted our third annual Emotion AI Summit in Boston. It was a jam-packed day - we hosted 450+ attendees representing the AI industry, automotive, healthcare, advertising, investors, academia and students; and 47 speakers (43% were women, which I’m especially proud of). This diverse group of people came together to discuss human-centric AI: as AI increasingly takes on roles traditionally held by humans, how can we ensure that we put the human before the artificial? And that we actively create a world where AI benefits us? 

The Summit also marked an exciting personal milestone for me, as I announced a project I’ve been working on: I’m writing a book! Girl Decoded is my memoir -- I joke that writing a “memoir” makes me sound old, so I prefer to think of it as my journey, which is pretty much still a work in progress. It follows my mission to humanize technology with Emotion AI juxtaposed against my personal life. Growing up as a “nice Egyptian girl,” and challenging those norms to become an entrepreneur in a male-dominated field has been a journey in self-discovery. That journey has continued as I’ve written this book -- I’ve reflected and tried to share parts of my story that I haven’t spoken about publicly before. It’s scary but I hope it’ll inspire others to find their voice -- especially other young women and entrepreneurs. The book will hit shelves in April 2020 but you can pre-order it now here.

There were so many meaningful takeaways and interactions from the Emotion AI Summit, but I wanted to share a few of the biggest realizations I had as I listened to our speakers. 

We’re more alike and synergistic than we are different

One thing that stood out to me was the cross-pollination of ideas that are creating synergies across industries. Areas like healthcare and automotive, that have typically existed in silos, are blending together in new ways, with AI serving as the mediator and connector. For example, with human-centric AI, your car may become a space where you can focus on your well-being; or in another case, employers can prevent burn-out with technology that understands employees’ experiences in the workplace and spaces beyond that (like in your car or at home). Year after year, one of my favorite parts of the Summit is seeing those unexpected connection points and areas where different industries intersect.

There’s a lot more work to be done on ethics and diversity

One thing that came up multiple times - in the discussions about automotive, healthcare and AI in general - is that there’s still a lot of fear and many misconceptions about AI that are hindering adoption across industries. So it’s really important for us to develop and deploy AI in a way that’s transparent, explainable, and empathetic in addressing the fear that still exists for the communities we serve. Diversity has a big role to play in that too -- diversity of our data and approach to mitigating algorithmic bias, but also diversity of our teams -- making sure we have diverse thoughts, perspectives and backgrounds in the room. I love how my PhD advisor, Peter Robinson, put it in his talk at the Emotion AI Summit: we shouldn’t see this charge as being about the ethics of AI, but simply about having ethics. 

We have the power to decide what our future with AI looks like

It’s daunting to think about all the ways that AI will impact our future -- the benefits and the potential for harm. But in a fireside chat at the Emotion AI Summit, MIT professor Max Tegmark painted a hopeful picture for action. He explained that we need to re-frame the question of what our future will look like with AI, asking instead “what do we want our future to look like?” And how can we act on it, instead of passively waiting to see what the future holds? 

Tegmark highlighted other industries like biotech that have successfully drawn lines for how their technology should be used (and how it shouldn’t be), which can serve as inspiration for the AI community as we chart our course. But for me it really comes down to empowerment: empowering the industry, future tech leaders, and consumers to confidently interact with AI as it manifests in many areas of our lives. 

I feel grateful that the Emotion AI Summit brought together so many people who have a voice and role to play in shaping the future of human-centric AI. But the conversation is far from over. If you were at the Summit, thank you for being with us -- I’d love to hear your thoughts and takeaways. And even if you weren’t, let’s continue this conversation. Because as an AI ecosystem, I truly believe we have the responsibility and the power to create a future where our humanity remains the priority amidst the artificial. 

If you missed the Summit we will make recordings available in a few weeks’ time -- all of that info will be available on our events page.

I want to close with a HUGE shutout to team Affectiva for making the Summit a success. I’m constantly in awe of what we’re able to accomplish, and am super proud of how everyone came together to play a part. Thank you for making the day all that it was.