17 Oct. to 4 Nov. 2022

Virtual Event by

The call for papers

We invite attendees to the event to share their work and thoughts with us ahead of the event. Specifically we invite you to share, as a one page document, a response to the bullet points below. You may provide a different one page document in response to each each bullet point, but only 1 page per bullet point. 
 
  • Your work: Outline your own work in the field that is relevant to our topics of hate speech, extremism, exploitation, disinformation and misinformation on digital platforms. This document can be a description of your work, a bullet point summary of past work with links to webpages or reports, or a collection of selected published abstracts. Please include references to any published papers / reports etc.

  • Tools: An overview of one or more tools you have developed to assist with one or more of our topics (hate speech, extremism, exploitation, disinformation and misinformation on digital platforms) and an explanation of how it can help.

  • Recommendations: A policy note with recommendations for consideration by stakeholders on ways to address hate speech, extremism, exploitation, disinformation and misinformation on digital platforms.

  • Technical challenge: An outline of a technical challenge that is inhibiting progress on technological responses to these threats. The technical challenge should be something new research might resolve in the future.

  • Policy challenge: An outline of a policy challenge, that is an explanation of a challenge that is inhibiting progress responding to these threats, but which is not technical in nature but rather a result of laws, corporate policy, or a tension with protecting other rights. You may optionally propose an approach to address the challenge you raise.

Papers provided in good time before the event may help inform discussions during the event. We will, however,  continue to accept additional papers until the end of the event. These papers will help the IEEE Computer Society better plan future activities, engage more effectively on these topics, and may lead to future invitations for greater engagement with specific participants. Submission details are provided after registration to attend the events. 

The plenary sessions

Our three plenary sessions include prepared remarks from our panel of speakers, Q&A with the speakers, and then small group discussions. The small group discussions are a chance to meet and network with a selection of other attendees, as well as a chance to discuss both the panel and that session’s topic for generally. Those who have engaged in work on the topic may wish to discuss their own work with the group. Our speakers will be moving through the groups taking part in discussions and answering further questions in these small group settings. 

The policy workshop

This workshop, supported by experts from IEEE’s Global Public Policy Committee, IEEE USA, and the IEEE European Public Policy Committee, will introduce attendees to IEEE’s public policy work, then discuss what might be done by IEEE in the public policy space in relation to hate speech, extremism, exploitation, disinformation and misinformation on digital platforms. We particularly interested in what we can do to better inform decisions makers about technical matters relevant to making sound policy responses in this space. 

We are soliciting questions from members of parliaments around the world and public officials working on online safety. Some questions have clear and definitive answers, for example, encryption can’t be weakened for some without weakening it for all. Other questions may lead to discussion and an exploration of options, their impacts, and what this might mean for a range of stakeholders as well as society at large. We won’t resolve all the questions in this sessions, but we expect a great discussion and, we hope, the start of further work in this space. 

The museum tour

This tour is a virtual walk through the physical museum in Belgium that hosts the #FakeImages exhibition. The tour, led by a guide from the museum, will give attendees access to see this amazing exhibition and its historical artifacts without leaving home. The tour will be offered twice at different times.