Bracing for Impact Conference: The Future of AI for Society

IP Osgoode, Reichman University and Microsoft are pleased to invite you to the first Bracing for Impact event to be held in person since 2019! The topic for this year’s conference is “The Future of AI for Society“.

Advancements in the field of artificial intelligence are progressively taking up more space in the world’s collective imagination about what the future of humanity could look like. Despite the tremendous potential we see in these technologies, their real-world application and integration remains relatively nascent. Implementing AI technology in society requires complex inter-disciplinary engagement between engineers, social scientists, application area experts, policy makers, users and impacted communities. Focusing on the application areas of smart cities, healthcare, and legal practice, this one-day conference brings together a multi-disciplinary audience to discuss how, through interdisciplinary collaboration, AI can help us to shape a more just, equitable, healthy, and sustainable future.

This full-day conference will be held in-person on 9 November 2022 at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, in Toronto, Canada. Admission is free and includes breakfast, lunch, refreshments throughout the day and a reception in the evening. The event will also be livestreamed on the Osgoode Hall Law School YouTube channel. The link will be provided closer to the event, but you can also register to receive an email reminder with the link on the morning of the event.

You can REGISTER for this event here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/bracing-for-impact-conference-the-future-of-ai-for-society-tickets-439880683967

Please note that in-person seating is limited, so please only register to attend in person if you plan to do so. If you are no longer able to attend in person, please let us know through Eventbrite as soon as possible. If in-person registration fills up, you may join our waitlist through Eventbrite and will be notified if a seat becomes available.

We hope that you will be able to join us either in person or virtually for this exciting event! If you have any questions, please contact us at iposgoode@osgoode.yorku.ca.

CONFERENCE AGENDA

 Conference Chair: Prof. Pina D’Agostino

Organizing Committee: Prof. Pina D’Agostino, Prof. Aviv Gaon & Prof. Ian Stedman

9:00 AM: Welcoming Remarks

• Prof. Pina D’Agostino, Founder & Director, IP Osgoode & IP Innovation Clinic, Osgoode Hall Law School & Co-Director, Centre for AI & Society (CAIS), York University
• Mr. Paul Tsaparis, Chair of the Board of Governors, York University

9:30 AM – 10:30 AM: Panel 1, “AI for the Future of Urban Development – Smart Cities, Transportation and Sustainability”

Municipalities have become significant and important consumers of digital technology. They are eager to demonstrate that they can use sensors to collect data which can be analyzed to create efficiencies and reduce costs, thus saving taxpayer money while also improving service delivery. Concerns about ubiquitous surveillance are not trivial, particularly in the context of governments wielding power over their citizens. This panel will explore these tensions and contextualize the promise of AI for the future of urban development.

• CHAIR: Hon. Maurizio Bevilacqua, Mayor of Vaughan, Ontario

• Prof. Guy Seidman, Professor of Law, Harry Radzyner Law School, Reichman University
• Prof. Jutta Treviranus, Director, Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) & Professor, Faculty of Design, OCAD University
• Ms. Neetika Sathe, Vice President, Green Energy and Technology (GRE&T) Centre, Alectra Inc.
• Prof. Zachary Spicer, Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, York University

10:30 AM – 11:00 AM: BREAK Featuring Special Appearance by SPOT, the robot dog from Boston Dynamics

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Panel 2, “AI for the Future of Legal Practice – Self-Regulation, Access to Justice and the Importance of Legal Data”

What if your lawyer could accurately predict whether a potential lawsuit would be successful before even filing a claim? What if they could predict whether to settle or litigate based on which judge was assigned? These tools already exist and are only improving. The mainstreaming of data-informed lawyering could drastically improve not only how justice systems operate, but also the financial and practical accessibility of legal services for clients. This panel will explore how we can maximize this potential within the unique context of lawyers’ professional self-regulation that has been so meticulously interrogated in recent years.

• CHAIR: Prof. Jonathon Penney, Associate Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University

• Prof. Sari Graben, Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies, Lincoln Alexander School of Law, Toronto Metropolitan University
• Prof. Pina D’Agostino, Founder & Director, IP Osgoode & IP Innovation Clinic, Osgoode Hall Law School & Co-Director, Centre for AI & Society (CAIS), York University
• Mr. Ryan Wong, Associate, Smart & Biggar
• Mr. Nye Thomas, Executive Director, Law Commission of Ontario

12:00 PM – 1:30 PM: Luncheon Keynote, “Ghetto Copyright”

During the Holocaust, Jewish prisoners in Nazi concentration camps and ghettos documented Nazi atrocities and shed light on their cultural life when they could not change their fate. The voices of Jewish prisoners in concentration camps and ghettos have been continuously silenced from the moment they were deprived of their rights and murdered, until today—when their works have yet to receive rightful protection. Academic legal research has omitted debates over copyright ownership in these works, permitting private and public repositories to claim ownership of these works, auction or sell them, and patronize the social and cultural life that they depict. By exploring legal and social questions about the ownership of these creative expressions, Dr. Zemer will highlight modern copyright law’s failure to protect owners’ claims to their creative expressions, free knowledge from illegitimate shelters, and open a provocative debate over legal and moral rights in these works of art, music, drama and authorship.

• Keynote Address: Prof. Lior Zemer, Dean, Harry Radzyner Law School, Reichman University
• Keynote Commentary: Hon. Justice Marshall Rothstein, Formerly of the Supreme Court of Canada

1:30 PM – 2:40 PM: Panel 3, “AI for the Future of Health – Data, IP and Equitable Access to Personalized Healthcare”

Never has leveraging data in healthcare been more important nor more obviously a priority than it became during the COVID-19 pandemic. The world has opened its collective eyes to the depth of insight and potential that lies in the sometimes messy and inconsistent notes of healthcare professionals around the world. As data-driven technologies advance and as innovators seek out robust datasets to draw out insights to improve both public and personal health outcomes, the laws, policies and ethical norms surrounding data use have taken centre stage. This panel will highlight how the emerging paradigms of data-driven healthcare systems can and will shape the future.

• CHAIR: Mr. Konstantinos Georgaras, CEO, Commissioner of Patents & Registrar of Trademarks, Canadian Intellectual Property Office

• Dr. Devin Singh, Staff Physician & Lead, Clinical AI & Machine Learning, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children

• Dr. Aviv Gaon, Senior Lecturer, Harry Radzyner Law School, Reichman University

• Ms. Mary Jane Dykeman, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, INQ Law
• Ms. Naseem Bawa, Counsel, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
• Ms. Laura Pio, Azure Data & AI Solution Specialist, Public Sector & Healthcare, Microsoft

2:40 PM – 3:00 PM: BREAK Featuring Special Appearance by SPOT, the robot dog from Boston Dynamics

3:00 PM – 3:15 PM: Launch of the York University Centre for AI & Society

• Dr. Amir Asif, Vice-President, Research & Innovation, York University
• Prof. Pina D’Agostino, Founder & Director, IP Osgoode & IP Innovation Clinic, Osgoode Hall Law School & Co-Director, Centre for AI & Society (CAIS), York University
• Prof. James Elder, Lassonde School of Engineering & Faculty of Health, York University

3:15 PM – 4:00 PM: IP Osgoode David Vaver Medal of Excellence in Intellectual Property Award Ceremony

IP Osgoode awards the David Vaver Medal yearly to a graduating Osgoode student who merits special recognition for outstanding achievements in the area of intellectual property law. The student’s achievements extend beyond academic excellence and can include significant contributions to research in intellectual property and related areas or exceptional commitment and enthusiasm through their participation in intellectual property-related extra-curricular activities. Due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, the medal has not been awarded in-person since 2019. In this ceremony, Prof. David Vaver will present the medal to the remaining recipients and all winners to date will provide brief remarks.

• REMARKS: Hon. Justice Marshall Rothstein, Formerly of the Supreme Court of Canada
• PRESENTER: Prof. David Vaver, Professor of Intellectual Property, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
• RECIPIENTS:

• • Mr. William Foster, Associate, Gowling WLG (2018)
  • Prof. Aviv Gaon, Senior Lecturer, Harry Radzyner Law School, Reichman University (2019)
  • Prof. Ian Stedman, Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy & Administration, York University (2020)
  • Mr. Ryan Wong, Associate, Smart & Biggar LLP (2021)
  • Ms. Bonnie Hassanzadeh, Articling Student, Sunnybrook Hospital (2022)

4:00 PM – 4:15 PM: Closing Remarks

• Prof. Pina D’Agostino, Founder & Director, IP Osgoode & IP Innovation Clinic, Osgoode Hall Law School & Co-Director, Centre for AI & Society (CAIS), York University

4:15 PM – 5:30 PM: Reception, including a Meet & Greet with SPOT