Responsible, Trustworthy, and ethical AI in citizen science
The use of AI techniques (such as machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision) is increasing rapidly across the participatory sciences. Such techniques are used throughout the research process, such as cleaning data before presenting it to volunteers, using volunteers to contribute to the training of machine learning models, in the field data collection aided by computer vision, and creating collaborations between humans and AI to make tasks more engaging and of higher quality. Whilst this can improve the scientific process, it is important to understand the limitations of the use of these techniques, as well as consider the impact on how volunteers understand their role in participatory science. How practitioners communicate the use of AI to volunteers and continue to emphasize the importance of their contributions is also extremely important. To be beneficial to all in the participatory science community, the use of AI must be responsible, ethical, and trustworthy. However, it is not always clear what this means and how it can be applied. This study asks: -What are the opportunities and drawbacks of using AI techniques in citizen science? -What does it mean to be responsible, ethical, and trustworthy in the use of AI? -How should the use of AI in citizen science be advanced? If you are (or have been) involved in planning, carrying out, or taking part in citizen science projects, you are invited to take part in an online survey about your perceptions of the use of AI in citizen science. The survey should take around 20 minutes and you will be asked about -Your experience with citizen science projects -Your experience of AI -Opinions on how/why AI should/should not be used in citizen science -The effects of AI use on volunteers -What the terms ‘responsible’, ‘trustworthy’, and ‘ethical’ mean in the context of using AI in citizen science -How citizen science and human-AI collaboration should develop in the future The results will be presented at the Conference for Advancing Participatory Science in Portland, Oregon, at the end of May 2025.
During the past few years, the EU-funded project, I-CHANGE, has facilitated eight living labs in- and outside the EU. We’ve done so to work with citizen science in monitoring environmental risks related to our changing climate. The hope of this project is that we, by helping citizens better understand the scientific links between behaviour, climate change, and risks, push toward societal change for new patterns of behaviour. In this interactive digital event, we will be discussing our learnings and ask you to reflect upon them with us: Does knowledge change behaviour? How do we make for a more just transition? What are alternative ways of understanding and creating change? The event is open for everyone, and you will be able to speak and listen in your native language. By partaking in this event, you consent to let us document the event proceedings by taking notes and screenshots of the online meeting.
Life in a Changing Climate - How citizen science helps us understand environmental changes and risks
During the past few years, the EU-funded project, I-CHANGE, has facilitated eight living labs in- and outside the EU. We’ve done so to work with citizen science to deepen our understanding of environmental monitoring, and strengthening the climate perception of all citizens. In this interactive digital event, we will be discussing our learnings and ask you to reflect upon them with us: What’s the value of citizen science compared to regular environmental monitoring? Are there environmental areas, where we should advocate for a stronger connection between citizens and science? Does citizen science have any limitations? The event is open for everyone, and you will be able to speak and listen in your native language. By partaking in this event, you consent to let us document the event proceedings by taking notes and screenshots of the online meeting.
University of Warsaw Library, …
#TranskriBUWmaraton is an event from 3 to 30 April 2023 as part of the Citizen Science Month celebrations. All interested readers and supporters of University of Warsaw Library will have the opportunity to cooperate in discovering, reading and transcribing historical handwritten documents, within a dedicated group on the FB profile of the University of Warsaw Library. This time we invited our colleagues from faculty libraries to cooperate. Especially for this occasion they chose interesting, rare and often surprising materials. Among them there are marginalia of one of the most eccentric Polish artists, handwritten maps, certificates labeling unique geological specimens and descriptions of plants from the so-called Hundred-year-old Herbarium. Together, we will try to unravel one of the unexplained mysteries of the Second World War, hidden in an encrypted and unread document from the collection of the Manuscripts Department of the University of Warsaw Library. And this is just a small part of what awaits you this year! We invite the entire academic community and all interested parties - both amateurs and specialists in their fields - to help in making historical sources more accessible and useful. As part of the project, for four weeks in April, we will be posting scans of selected handwritten documents on the TranskriBUW Facebook group. The task consist in reading and rewriting the text of the documents as precisely as possible and publishing the prepared transcripts in the comments section. The correctness of all prepared transcripts will be verified by University of Warsaw Library employees, who will further decide to link them to the scans of manuscripts placed in the Crispa. Digital Library of the University of Warsaw (https://crispa.uw.edu.pl/). Transcriptions will improve the readability as well as facilitate search and access to these handwritten documents. Everyone will be able to use them freely. The language of the event is Polish.
CitSciHelvetia is the Swiss Citizen Science Conference. CitSciHelvetia connects Swiss stakeholders in Citizen Science and participatory research in general, promoting the exchange of experiences and shared learning between the three language and cultural regions. It serves as the platform for professional exchange with Science et Cité hosting the second Swiss Citizen Science Conference. CitSciHelvetia'23 will take place on March 29 and 30, 2023 at Landhaus Solothurn. It follows the motto “Citizen Science – Making impact participatory!”. The conference addresses project leaders and project staff of Citizen Science projects, representatives of universities, research institutions, NGOs and associations as well as people who engage themselves in Citizen Science on an institutional level. In addition, the conference addresses representatives of science communication, transdisciplinary and participatory research, and Open Science. Registration for the Swiss Citizen Science Conference is open until March 8, 2023.
Engaging Citizen Science Conference 2022
The Engaging Citizen Science Conference will take place at Aarhus University, Denmark, April 25-26, 2022 and will promote knowledge sharing among the citizen science community. The aim of the conference is to engage citizen science researchers, practitioners, and citizens in sharing research, ideas, and innovations in order to make the field thrive and expand. The conference will be interdisciplinary in scope, inviting workshops, dialogue roundtables, posters, and demos from all main areas of research (natural and technical sciences, life and health sciences, and social sciences and humanities). The main conference language will be English, meaning that keynotes and main track sessions will be in English. Language of individual workshop sessions, dialogue roundtables, posters and demos are at the discretion of the session/roundtable/poster/demo organizer(s) and must be either Danish or English.
Online Course on Management of Biosphere Reserves and other designated areas
If you are a post graduate student, young scientist, member of a MAB Youth Group, educator or manager working on Biosphere Reserves and other designated areas, then, this online course is for you! The course is the virtual part of the 2021 Asterousia Hybrid University on Management of Biosphere Reserves and other designated areas, and will run from 10 January to 6 February 2022. The course in a nutshell : DURATION: Four weeks, starting from 10 January to 6 February 2022. FORMAT: It combines asynchronous (self-paced) and synchronous sessions (weekly live meetings). COMMITTMENT: The total training time for learners is approx. 20 hours (~5 hours/week). PARTICIPANTS: MAB Youth Group members, Post-Graduate Students, Young Scientists, Educators and Managers of Biosphere Reserves and other designated areas, with a priority to be given to applicants from European and Mediterranean countries. LANGUAGE: English. CERTIFICATION: Learners who succesfully complete 80% of the course assignments will get the course's certificate co-signed by the UNESCO Regional Office for Science and Culture in Europe and the UNESCO Chair & Network on Sustainable Development Management and Education in the Mediterranean. COST: Thanks to the kind contribution of the organizers this course will be free of charge for all participants! ORGANISERS: MIO-ECSDE and the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe (Venice Office) REGISTRATIONS: https://www.eventora.com/en/Events/2021_Asterousia_hybrid_university MORE INFORMATION: https://medies.net/2021-asterousia-hybrid-university-phase-b-online-course
Call for abstracts Open Track on PANDEMIC AND STS - 8th STS Conference
We warmly encourage you to send your abstracts for the following track: How to Protect Communities from Sars CoV-2 through Co-production of Health and the Design of Commons-Based Ecosystems by Adopting Distributed Ledger Technologies? Convenors: Guido Boella, Vincenzo Giorgino, Valeria Poli, Sowelu Avanzo. Please, see the complete call for the submission guidelines below, or consult the complete list of tracks. The 8th STS Italia Conference will be hosted by the University of Trieste, Italy, June 17 through 19, 2021, by the Italian Society of Science and Technology Studies. It is our pleasure to announce that the calls for abstract are now open until December 18th, 2020. The conference will be an opportunity to present empirical and theoretical work from a variety of disciplines: sociology, anthropology, design, economics, history, law, philosophy, psychology and semiotics. The focal theme of the 8th STS Italia Conference will be "Dis/Entangling Technoscience: Vulnerability, Responsibility and Justice”. This broad theme refers to the complex and ambivalent role of technoscience and innovation in constituting societies – making possibilities flourish, but also creating new vulnerabilities. The conference will include 28 tracks, which are clustered into five thematic streams. The tracks focus on several topics, including: biomedicine, digital platforms and media, work and organizations, expertise and public policy, ethics of technology and innovation, and governance of science and technology at large. Abstracts (written in English, or in Italian in case of tracks in two language) should be submitted by December, 18 to the conference email address (stsitaliaconf@gmail.com) and to the emails of convenors' selected track. Track Convenor(s) will be responsible for reviewing, accepting/rejecting and organising submissions into their track. THEMATIC STREAMS · Biomedicine, bodies and technoscience; · Platforms, digital technologies and media environments; · Rethinking science, technology and innovation: emerging challenges; · Including, excluding and connecting through / within technoscience; · Governing and reshuffling technoscience and innovation processes; · Open Track: Science and Technology Studies in Post-socialist countries/in Central and Eastern European countries; · Open Track on PANDEMIC AND STS: How to Protect Communities from Sars CoV-2 through Co-production of Health and the Design of Commons-Based Ecosystems by Adopting Distributed Ledger Technologies?
On 24 February 2021 (15:00-16:30 CET), Cos4Cloud will be running an ECSA/EU-Citizen.Science webinar to share the project’s progress so far. This is a chance for the citizen science community, and anyone else with an interest in this project, to find out more and put their questions to the project team. Attendance is free, and the event will be held in English – although questions are welcomed in other languages, and we will do our best to translate them! More details (speakers, etc.) will be shared soon, but you can register for the event now via the URL.