Engineering in the Age of AI: Safety, security and ethics

Event details

York Society of Engineers Lecture

Historically, engineered systems tended to fall within a single discipline, e.g. mechanical or civil engineering. With the introduction of computers and software over the last 40-50 years, engineered systems have become more complex and often integrate many disciplines, including software engineering and human factors. Software has now become dominant in many fields, and, for example, we talk about the software-defined radio or car. This has introduced new challenges, e.g. the impact of cyber-security on engineered systems, however the changes have been progressive. In contrast, the recent resurgence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its use in engineered systems, e.g. cars and ships, is a much more radical, and potentially highly disruptive, change, which requires substantive adaptations to engineering methods and capabilities.

The talk will outline the nature of AI, especially machine learning (ML), the challenges it brings in achieving and assuring safety, and indicate some of the wider ethical challenges introduced by using such technology. It will also consider the way in which autonomy, enabled by AI or ML, changes the nature of the security problems and highlights the interdependence of safety and security.

Rather than just presenting challenges, the talk will also outline work done in the Centre for Assuring Autonomy (CfAA) to provide solutions to these challenges and indicate where it is having an impact both on industrial practice and in approaches to regulation.

The talk will be illustrated by examples from several application domains, including automotive, healthcare and maritime.

The talk will conclude by outlining some residual challenges in terms of research, regulation and engineering competency.

The York Society of Engineers welcomes applications for membership from those engaged or interested in Engineering. Membership brings several benefits; please visit our website for more details and an application form.

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