The Center for the Study of Democratic citizenship, in collaboration with the Milieux Institute for Arts + Technology at Concordia University presents:
AI Commons Workshop: Imagining an AI Commons: A One-Day Workshop on AI and the Commons
Hosts: Machine Agencies, Milieux Institute, Concordia University
Where and when: Friday, December 6, 2019. Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology at Concordia University. 1515 Rue Sainte-Catherine W. EV Building, 11.455 Montréal.
The workshop is invite only. Some travel funds will be available for speakers.
More information available here.
About : How can artificial intelligence be oriented toward the common good? The belief in AI for good has widespread acceptance in the industry and among governments. Declarations from around the globe—Canada, China, South Korea, France, and more—call for the development of AI to have a social purpose. But what is that purpose?
The workshop seeks to develop a vision for a commons-based approach to the future of AI. It is an intervention to develop democratic approaches to digital disruption and understand transformations in citizen engagement. The workshop will produce a public report on the possibility of an AI as well as a series of video interviews capturing the discussion.
In this workshop, we invite you to reflect broadly on artificial intelligence and its relation to the commons as you consider the following questions:
- What should an AI Commons be?
- How could a commons-based approach guide the development of AI?
- How does a commons approach differ from proposed ethical or rights-based frameworks?
- How could the development of AI today—including the infrastructure and knowledge at its foundation—become a commons?
- What forms of collective action and governance would be necessary? What movements and efforts already exist?
- What latent commons or undercommons might we find in thinking about AI?
- Could AI reshape how we think about the commons, leading to new theories or practices?
- How might related (or unrelated) approaches to the commons be understood through AI and the commons (e.g., making kin, new materialism, infrastructures of care, or platform cooperativism)?
- What histories and instances of the commons does an AI commons require for context and inspiration?
- How might we imagine a future common world for the machines, environments, humans, and other life drawn together by the industrial efforts around AI?
- How can humans, AI, and other agents collaborate equitably in these commons?
- How might AI reproduce sustainably within the natural commons, unseating extractive and settler approaches to common worlds?
The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship presents:
David Fitzgerald (University of California San diego)
Refuge beyond reach: how rich democracies repel asylum seekers
You can learn more about Professor Fitzgerald by clicking here.
Where and When: Friday, January 31, 2020 at 3:00pm. Boardroom 404, Thomson House, McGill University.
Abstract: The core of the asylum regime is the principle ofnon-refoulement that prohibits governments from sending refugees back to their persecutors. Governments attempt to evade this legal obligation to which they have explicitly agreed by manipulating territoriality. A remote control strategy of “extra-territorialization” pushes border control functions hundreds or even thousands of kilometers beyond the state’s territory. Simultaneously, states restrict access to asylum and other rights enjoyed by virtue of presence on a state’s territory, by making micro-distinctions down to the meter at the border line in a process of “hyper-territorialization.” Refuge beyond Reach analyzes remote controls since the 1930s in Palestine, North America, Europe, and Australia to identify the origins of different forms of remote control, explain how they work together as a system of control, and establish the conditions that enable or constrain them in practice. It argues that foreign policy issue linkages and transnational advocacy networks promoting a humanitarian norm that is less susceptible to the legal manipulation of territoriality constrains remote controls more than the law itself. The degree of constraint varies widely by the technique of remote control. FitzGerald engages fundamental theoretical questions about the extent to which norms and institutions shape state action, the collision between sovereignty and universalist values, and the shifting articulation of governments, territories, and rights-bearing individuals.
See all the other Speaker Series Events here.
This series is sponsored by the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, which is funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC).
The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship presents:
Jane Green (University of Oxford)
Title Coming Soon
You can learn more about Professor Green by clicking here.
Where and When: Friday, February 7, 2020 at 3:00pm. Room C-2059, Lionel Groulx, UdeM.
Abstract: Coming soon.
See all the other Speaker Series Events here.
This series is sponsored by the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, which is funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC).
The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship presents:
John Holbein (University of Virginia)
Title Coming Soon
You can learn more about Professor Holbein by clicking here.
Where and When: Friday, February 21, 2020 at 3:00pm. Room C-2059, Lionel Groulx, UdeM.
Abstract: Coming soon.
See all the other Speaker Series Events here.
This series is sponsored by the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, which is funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC).
The Center for the Study of Democratic Citizenship is happy to co-sponsor the event:
6th Leuven – Montréal Winter School on Elections
Hosts: Université de Montréal
Where and When: 29 February – 7 March 2020, Université de Montréal
About the event: Elections and voting behaviour are central topics in political science. This line of research calls for sophisticated research, both from a theoretical and a methodological point of view. The high-quality standards in the field imply that there is a need for specific training for PhD students working on these topics. The Leuven-Montréal Winter School addresses this need by offering a program focused on theories and methods in the study of elections and voting behaviour. The Winter School is organized jointly by the universities of Montréal and Leuven, and is based on the expertise of these universities and other well-known scholars on elections and voting behaviour.
Call for papers: please click here
For more information, please visit the website: https://soc.kuleuven.be/centre-for-political-research/events/6th-winterschool-2020
All are welcome!
The Winter School is organized in collaboration with the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), and supported by the ECPR Standing Group on Public Opinion and Voting Behaviour in a Comparative Perspective.
The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship presents:
Jonathan Mummolo (Princeton University)
The Bias is built: how administrative records mask racially biased policing
You can learn more about Professor Mummolo by clicking here.
Where and When: Friday, March 20, 2020 at 3:00pm. Room 404, Thomson House, McGill University.
Abstract: Researchers often lack the necessary data to credibly estimate racial bias in policing. In particular, police administrative records lack information on civilians police observe but do not investigate. In this paper, we show that if police racially discriminate when choosing whom to investigate, analyses using administrative records to estimate racial discrimination in police behavior are statistically biased, rendering many quantities of interest unidentified—even among investigated individuals—absent strong and untestable assumptions. Using principal stratification in a causal mediation framework, we derive the exact form of the statistical bias that results from traditional estimation approaches. We develop a bias-correction procedure and nonparametric sharp bounds for race effects, replicate published findings, and show traditional estimation techniques can severely underestimate levels of racially biased policing or mask discrimination entirely. We conclude by outlining a general and feasible design for future studies that is robust to this inferential snare.
See all the other Speaker Series Events here.
This series is sponsored by the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, which is funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC).
The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship presents:
Sarah Hobolt (London School of Economics and Political Science)
Title Coming Soon
You can learn more about Professor Hobolt by clicking here.
Where and When: Friday, April 3, 2020 at 3:00pm. Room TBD, Lionel Groulx Building, UdeM.
Abstract: Abstract soon.
See all the other Speaker Series Events here.
This series is sponsored by the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, which is funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC).
The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship presents:
Cory Clark (Durham University)
Title Coming Soon
You can learn more about Professor Clark by clicking here.
Where and When: Friday, April 17, 2020 at 3:00pm. Room Salle 404, Thomson House, McGill.
Abstract: Abstract soon.
See all the other Speaker Series Events here.
This series is sponsored by the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, which is funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC).
Graduate Student Conference
Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship
April 23rd, 2020
Maison du développement durable, Montréal
Call for Papers
The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship (CSDC) will host its annual graduate student conference on Thursday, April 23rd, in Montreal. The goal of this conference is to offer graduate students and postdoctoral fellows interested in the Centre’s research areas the opportunity to present and receive feedback on their research.
The Centre’s research areas include:
- Learning Democratic Citizenship in an Unequal World: This axis focuses on the acquisition of values, attitudes and behaviours that contribute to a vibrant democratic citizenry. Democracy rests fundamentally on the principle of political equality, but in practice, economic and social disadvantage translates into unequal access to political power and decision-making (Schlozman et al 2012). Growing inequality is chipping away at the foundations of democracy, leading to increased political polarization and disaffection with politics (Kwon 2015). Now more than ever, effective democracies require engaged, responsible, and knowledgeable citizens. Understanding the factors that impact the development of this type of active democratic citizenship is a key goal of axis 1.
- Practicing Citizenship in a Skeptical World: The practice of democratic citizenship is undergoing a multifaceted transition. Scepticism about representative democracy as a system of governance is growing and citizens across established democracies are withdrawing from politics. Their perception about the political world is impacted by transformations in the news media practices and by online content, including social media. Voting and party politics have been the basis of conventional interpretations of citizenship, but there is ample evidence that this conception is much too limited. New forms of communication are providing citizens with novel ways to gather information and to engage in politics.
- Representing and Governing Citizens in Critical Times: After learning and practicing democratic citizenship, the next critical steps are representation and governance. Democratic institutions are key elements. They shape the norms and incentives for active citizenship and they link citizens and their representatives in ways that foster accountability, legitimacy and representation. Research on this axis will focus on the role of electoral systems, parliaments, parliamentary debates, and political parties.
This conference is open to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from any university or discipline that shares an interest in one of the Centre’s research areas. There is no registration fee. Participants registered at a Quebec university or in the Ottawa region, and who are coming in from outside Montreal are eligible for a stipend from the CSDC to cover travel costs up to 102$. Accommodation costs will also be covered by the CSDC.
Those whose proposal have been accepted will be required to participate in the entire conference and to submit a written communication in the form of a research note or paper no later than 10 days prior to the beginning of the conference. Each presenter will give a presentation of approximately 15 minutes on their proposed topic and act as a discussant for a paper presented by another student. Furthermore, we strongly encourage participants to submit a written communication of approximatively 4000 words. This directive aims to encourage participants to focus on the oral presentation of their research. Obviously, we will still accept longer written communications in the form of a scientific article. French will be the primary language of the conference; however, participants are welcome to submit papers and present in English.
Graduate and postdoctoral students interested in presenting at the CSDC conference are invited to contact Maxime Coulombe (maxime.coulombe.1@umontreal.ca) with the following information: (1) their first and last name, (2) their institutional email address, (3) their current level of study (Masters, Ph.D. or Post-Doctorate), (4) the department and university with which they are affiliated, (5) their supervisor’s name and email address, (6) the title of their proposed paper, and (7) an abstract of around 250 words which presents the research questions, the theoretical approach, the methodology, and the planned status of the research at the time of the conference (project, or preliminary results and initial analysis, or completed results and analyses).
Deadline to submit proposals: December 15th, 2019
Notification of accepted proposals: Late-January, 2020
Deadline to submit papers: April 13th, 2020
The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship (CSDC) was established in 2008, funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et Culture (FRQ-SC). The Centre brings together a group of scholars from six Quebec universities addressing a wide range of questions relating to the relationship between citizens and the political process in a multidisciplinary perspective. For more information on the CSDC, visit: http://csdc-cecd.ca.
For more information on the conference, please contact the organizers:
Maxime Coulombe (maxime.coulombe.1@umontreal.ca)
Frédérick Bastien (f.bastien@umontreal.ca)
CSDC CONFERENCE – CALL FOR PAPERS
Democracy and Diversity
April 24-25, 2020, Montréal, QC
Canada and democracies across the globe face a broad array of important normative and empirical questions with regard to diversity. What avenues are available to immigrants, ethnocultural citizens, or other minority groups to be heard by decision-makers? How have both citizens and institutions responded to this growth in diversity? How do these responses vary across democratic contexts?
For the second edition of its triennial conference, the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship (CSDC) invites a broad, multidisciplinary range of paper submissions that address these questions. The conference will include a series of panels for the invited papers, a poster session for graduate students, as well as roundtables. We are organizing panels around the following subthemes, with an emphasis on diversity:
- Immigration
- Elections
- Representation
- Democratization
- Democratic Politics
- Psychology
While the focus is on diversity, we welcome submissions on topics related to any of the CSDC’s three research axes. We strongly encourage papers that place Canada in a comparative context. Selected participants will be expected to provide complete papers by April 3, 2020.
To apply, please send the following information 1) paper submission (title, list of authors, and abstract of no more than 250 words) and 2) up to three suggested panels to csdc.cecd2020@gmail.com by December 15, 2019. Paper submissions are welcome in English or French.
Co-Organizers:
- Ruth Dassonneville (ruth.dassonneville@umontreal.ca), Université de Montréal
- Aaron Erlich (aaron.erlich@mcgill.ca), McGill University
- Jean-François Godbout (jean-francois.godbout@umontreal.ca), Université de Montréal
