​LKCMedicine staff bags top prize in NISTH inaugural Ideas Challenge

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LKCMedicine's Assistant Director of Education Development Emmanuel Tan has been awarded first prize in the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) Institute of Science and Technology for Humanity Ideas (NISTH) inaugural Ideas Challenge, for his essay addressing the theme of AI for Humanity. His essay describing on online dispute mechanism for resolving conflict in the AI world, was selected from 90 entries submitted for the Challenge. In it, Mr Tan proposed an online dispute resolution mechanism, known as "Online Mediation for AI ("Omai").

"AI has brought about immense benefits to the society, but at the same time, it has also created some tensions in some areas. So Omai is an idea which hopefully is able to resolve some of the tensions - if not all, not everything. It could also be a step towards fufiling the potential that AI could bring to the society," he added. 

Mr Tan received his prize today (11 March 2019) from NTU Singapore President Subra Suresh at the official launch of NISTH, in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Mr Tharman was the Guest-of-Honour at the event.

"I am deeply humbled as well as honoured to win this award and I feel very encouraged by the strong support from the LKCMedicine management and my team," said Mr Tan during the event held at the Lee Kong Chian Theatre in NTU.

NTU INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR HUMANITY

Prof Suresh first announced in February last year that NISTH would be set up to study the impact of technology on society.

Calling the launch of NITSH a "milestone" for NTU, Prof Suresh said the institute is established as a university-wide effort to synergise and coordinate NTU's strengths.

"It is a multi-disciplinary forum to foster dialogues, discussions and research into how science and technology impact society and humanity. NISTH would bring together industry, government, academia and non-profit organisations to develop ideas and concepts for the prudent and ethical development of technology and policies for the betterment of human conditions as the Fourth Industry Revolution impacts the global society in profound ways," said Prof Suresh.

To mark the launch of NISTH, the inaugural Ideas Challenge – a university-wide competition – was conceived, on the theme of "AI for Humanity" to encourage NTU faculty, staff and students to submit their creative ideas on how AI will impact the urban environment and to advance ideas about its governance.

The Challenge drew 90 entries – including project proposals, works of fiction and essays – that raised issues for a society increasingly reliant on AI and put forth strategies to enhance the human condition. The entries were judged by a panel for their originality, feasibility and potential impact.

There are six winners for the Challenge, made up of faculty, staff and students. The second prize went to Bisakha Das and Mohit Prashant from the School of Computer Science & Engineering and Poorvi Ashok from the School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences. Meanwhile, Dr Kadek Ratih Dwi Oktarini, a Research Fellow from the School of Humanities and Dr I Made Riko, a Senior Research Fellow from the Asian School of the Environment, received the third prize.

The top three winners participated in the inaugural NISTH Round Table on AI for Humanity, where they contributed to the formulation of the NISTH Statement on AI Ethics and Governance.

FEASIBILITY AND ORIGINALITY OF OMAI

In his essay, Mr Tan noted that whilst the use of mediation and online mediation is not new in Singapore, its scope could be expanded to include AI matters. 

Mediation is currently used to resolve commercial disputes, while online mediation is used in certain situations such as employment matters.

"Of course one may argue that AI issues could be mediated using existing channels. But a dedicated mediation services for AI is favourable, as it raises the choice of mediation as an alternative dispute resolution (rather than litigation) and it helps to build capacity for better AI governance," said Mr Tan.

Mediation also advocates a joint problem-solving attitude that promotes trust between AI and the society. In mediation, both parties take an active approach to understand the interests behind each party and explore possible options, which could resolve the dispute.

"Furthermore, as opposed to an adversary manner of tackling conflict, the online mechanism of Omai allows more parties to participate in the mediation, more time to allow the process to unfold, and at a greater cost efficient way to resolve conflicts. Most importantly, mediation encourages a certain degree of civility and helps to build the nascent trust between AI and the community," said Mr Tan.

Complimenting the essay, LKCMedicine Dean Prof James Best said it is one that is highly original.

"Emmanuel's proposal is well-thought out and timely in this day and age. As more industries including healthcare turn to AI, I foresee that Omai can play an important role in resolving conflicts," said Prof Best.

LKCMedicine Vice-Dean for Education Prof Naomi Low-Beer agrees.

"Congratulations to Emmanuel for presenting a highly innovative solution to such an important societal challenge," she said.

WINNERS OF THE NISTH IDEAS CHALLENGE: AI FOR HUMANITY

First prize: Emmanuel Tan Chee Peng, LKCMedicine Assistant Director of Education Development and TBL Facilitator. 
Essay: Omai: A Model Towards Resolving Conflict in the AI World

Second prize: Bisakha Das, School of Computer Science & Engineering (SCSE), Mohit Prashant, SCSE, Poorvi Ashok, School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences. 
Essay: AI for Humanity: Addressing the Issue of Discriminatory Profiling with AI

Third prize: Dr Kadek Ratih Dwi Oktarini, Research Fellow, School of Humanities, Dr I Made Riko, Senior Research Fellow, Asian School of the Environment
Essay: Intelligent Internet Chatbot System (AI Companion) that Interconnects with Various Medical Facilities

Commendation: Richelle-Joy Chia, School of Social Sciences (SSS), Alvin Chan (SCSE), Kwa Kai Xiang (SSS) and Wendy Tan (SSS)
Essay: Living with AI: A Smart Nation's Ethical Framework

Commendation: Asst Prof Andrew Prahl and Ms Wong Pei Wen from Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information (WKWSCI) 
Essay: Solving Moral Ambiguity in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Building a FIRM Platform that Enables a Corresponding Revolution in Ethical Thought and Reasoning

Commendation: Sim Zhi Qi, Arnold Toh, Sit Han Zhe and Lim Xuan Yu from Renaissance Engineering Programme 
Essay: To Investigate How Severity of Scenarios Affects Human Preferences Towards Rule-based and Randomised Automated Decisions