Conference: ReDDDoT Phase 1: Workshop: Exploring Roles of Science and Technology Centers and Museums in Facilitating Public Collaboration in Artificial Intelligence

As artificial intelligence (AI) technology advances, there is growing public attention to how these tools are developed and their societal impacts. Science and technology centers and museums (SCMs) are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between complex AI concepts and the general public. This project, led by the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC), aims to explore how SCMs can enhance public education and engagement with AI.

ASTC will convene science engagement practitioners, researchers, community leaders, and experts in informal science learning to collaboratively identify a range of ways that SCMs can help foster informed dialogue about AI's socio-economic and ethical implications. This initiative aligns with the National Science Foundation's mission to promote the progress of science and support scientific education and outreach.

The outcomes of this project have the potential to enhance public understanding of AI, ensure that AI development is aligned with community values, and integrate public feedback into AI research and development, leading to more socially responsible and ethical AI technologies.

This project will investigate and define the roles that SCMs can play in public education and engagement related to AI. ASTC will host a 1.5-day, in-person workshop featuring plenary sessions and two main tracks: Public Education and Learning, and Public Engagement and Collaboration. The workshop will convene 30-35 participants, including science engagement practitioners, AI researchers, community network leaders, and experts in informal science learning and public participation in technology design.

This workshop will be designed to surface, categorize, assess, and share methods for effective and inclusive public collaboration on AI using existing local science engagement infrastructure. The agenda will build on insights from recent AI and SCM meetings (such as the Alan J. Friedman Science Center Dialogues at ASTC’s 2023 annual conference), and on AI-related exhibits and programs at various SCMs.

The workshop aims to identify opportunities and barriers to deploying these approaches across more communities. The findings and the resulting AI Public Understanding and Collaboration roles typology will be disseminated through ASTC’s extensive network, enhancing the capacity of SCMs to foster public understanding and collaboration in AI.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.