This blog was provided by Heta Pukki, President of the European Council of Autistic People.
Inaugural Year Culmination: Training for Advocacy
The first year of the Artificial Intelligence and the Rights of Autistic People (AIRA) project of the European Council of Autistic People culminated in a training event for autistic people interested in advocacy and campaigning. The 8-10 December event brought together 12 participants from six countries in Prague, with eight more joining online. The 8-10 December event brought together 12 participants from six countries in Prague, with eight more joining in online.
Knowledge Generation and Ethical Dilemmas
The training summarised the findings from the literature review, survey, and consultations conducted over the past year, generating the knowledge that will serve the next stages. The project’s research team had delved into uses of AI that affect autistic people and bring up ethical dilemmas, such as the use of AI in diagnosing autism, emotion recognition as part of autism care and interventions, as well as presenting possible beneficial uses of the new technologies.
Inclusive Technology and Advocacy
Kat Van der Poorten, one of the main researchers for the AIRA project, explored links between AI and autism with a commitment to inclusive technology and disability rights. She had compiled the collective knowledge of the AIRA team to create the main part of the training.
Legal Aspects of AI: A Human Rights Perspective
Eva Fialová, joining in as an expert consultant for the project, spoke about legal aspects of AI, autonomous systems, and automated decision-making, with the aim of developing effective advocacy strategies from the human rights perspective.
Project Overview and Collaborative Initiatives
Heta Pukki, President of EUCAP, provided an overview of the project’s early stages, the motivations behind EUCAP engaging with this topic, the capacity-building, and other elements that were added over the year, most notably collaboration with the Belgian university KU Leuven and Professor Ilse Noens, as well as the Finnish project Autistic People’s Keys to Advocacy, and outlined the main goals of the second project year.
Next Steps and Expected Outcomes
The expected results include the development of advocacy materials, active campaigning, and networking to become more closely involved with the ecosystem of organisations with similar aims.
Continuing the Conversation: Online Survey
The project’s online survey for autistic people, available in seven languages – after the last moment addition of an Italian version – collecting information about knowledge, attitudes, wishes, and concerns regarding AI, remained open until the end of December 2023.
