Internal ) Student Research Assistant - 3D Model Impact Case Study Project

About the Opportunity The Research Project The Principal Investigator (PI) is Professor Brian Ball. The Co-Investigator (co-I) is Dr Alice Helliwell. The project relates to furthering the impact case study in Philosophy, developing research related to, and evidence of impact from, the investigative team’s 3D Model of Ethical AI Practice. That work itself forms just a part of the research philosophy colleagues are doing on AI ethics, and at the intersection of philosophy and computing (including AI) more generally.

The 3D Model is the research team’s attempt to resolve an issue that has arisen in AI Ethics over the past decade, namely how to operationalize and implement ethical principle in AI practice. The PI and co-I have worked with an industry partner, Pippa Labs, to test the implementation of the 3D model in a business context and now look to further that initiative, through activities dedicated to ensuring broader uptake for impact beyond academia.

Specifically, the team will work with our industry partner, and one or more research assistants, over the autumn and spring semesters, to (a) develop training materials, and (b) deliver a pilot one-day training workshop, on implementing the 3D model within a range of organizational contexts. We will also then (c) gather evidence of (i) the effectiveness of this training, and (ii) the impact of the model itself following organizational uptake.

The project will not only facilitate uptake of antecedently existing research; it will also produce an interdisciplinary research output in its own right that bolsters the impact case study within philosophy.

Role Summary The research assistant (RA) will work with the research team, and partners, to support the project. Specifically, the RA will support the development of training materials related to the implementation of the 3D model in a corporate setting for use in the planned workshop. Some work has already been done translating the original research paper into more readily accessible form (e.g. two-page pdf) for corporate audiences;

the RA’s role will be slightly different, helping the team to create materials that can be used in the projected workshop for training external parties in the implementatoin of the model in such settings. There may also be scope within the role for work supporting the development and delivery of the planned workshop and/or the creation and maintenance of a list of external contacts who can provide evidence of impact of the model.

• Plan, write, and edit training materials for 3D model implementation and related research undertaken by the PI and collaborator(s) for use by non-academic audiences.
• Support the development and/or delivery of the planned workshop training external parties to teach the implementation of the 3D model in a corporate setting.
• Facilitate collection of feedback and other data on the impact of this research.
• Meet with faculty supervisor on regular basis to maintain ongoing communication regarding the quality of the assistant’s performance.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Scope of the Assistantship The Research Assistant will work on dedicated tasks as indicated above. The RA will at times work online and will be expected to have the necessary equipment (laptop/PC, internet connection, standard licensed software package, College licensed library resources access, etc) to work remotely.

Supervision The Research Assistant will be supervised by Professor Brian Ball and/or Dr Alice Helliwell as appropriate. This is envisaged to be on a fortnightly basis, or as required.

Engagement and Remuneration The expectation is that…