Scottish AI Alliance

Happy Holidays from the Scottish AI Alliance! 🎄 As 2024 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on an incredible year spent connecting with, and supporting Scotland’s growing AI activity. From hosting sell-out events to relaunching our Playbook, it’s been a great year…and we can’t wait to bring you even more in 2025! Thank you for your continued support and collaboration 🤝 Our team is taking a well-deserved break from December 24th and will be on January 6th. Until then, we wish you all a happy holiday season.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗔𝗜 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮 🎅 AI could help optimise toy production, track naughty vs. nice lists, or even plan efficient sleigh routes... but here’s why Santa is irreplaceable: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘀 🎅 Ho, ho, ho! Santa’s iconic, deep belly laugh brings joy around the world 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗚𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 🎁 AI might recommend the "perfect" gift, but only Santa knows the exact gift you’re after 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗺𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 🏠 We’re not so sure robots would have Santa’s chimney-sliding skills 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰 ⭐ Not only does he bring presents, but hope, love, and holiday spirit 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗸 🍪🥛 No AI will ever scoff down biscuits and milk quite like Santa does AI might be able to help, but it could never replace the magic of Santa! 🎄 Let’s celebrate the magic that technology can’t replace!

Get involved in the UK Government's 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗞’𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗞 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿. This consultation closes at 11:59pm on 25 February 2025. Learn more about the purpose of the consultation and get involved today:

As generative AI became a bigger topic in society SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) developed a ‘Guide to generative AI for Scotland’s voluntary sector.’ This guide is perfect for those working in the charity sector or those looking to find out more about generative AI. Educate yourself on generative AI and learn how it can be used in voluntary sector work: https://buff.ly/49wOe8K

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆. The Responsible Technologies Adoption Unit (RTA) conducts annual surveys to understand attitudes to data and data-driven technologies and how the attitudes change over time. Read the report detailing the findings from the Fourth Wave of the Public Attitudes Tracker Survey for insights on attitudes towards societal data use, levels of awareness and behaviour uptake of AI, expectation of AI’s impact on society and preferences for data’s use in society: https://lnkd.in/ear4dbXV 

🗣️ Putting children’s voices centre stage This February, the Children & AI team at the Alan Turing Institute will be convening the Children’s AI Summit, in partnership with Queen Mary University of London and supported by the LEGO Group and Cattanach. Children will gather to share their views on what should be on the agenda at the Paris AI Action Summit the following week. Putting children’s voices and experiences centre stage, the summit will explore how AI impacts children today, and how children want to shape its future. As part of the summit, we have hosted three competitions for children aged 8–18 to submit: ✳️ Messages to world leaders to let them know what they should do to ensure AI is good for children ✳️ Idea pitches for how AI could be used to do something great ✳️ A piece of art showing what AI means to them and how it could be developed in the future. We are excited to announce the judges for these three competitions, who will be making their decisions over the next month to announce the winners in January. Winners will be invited to attend the Children’s AI Summit, with other exciting prizes available on the day. ⭐ Cosmina Dorobantu, Co-Director Public Policy Programme at the Alan Turing Institute ⭐ Beckett L., Head of Compliance at 5Rights Foundation ⭐ Calum M., Engagement & Participation Manager at Scottish AI Alliance ⭐ Steph Wright, Head of Scottish AI Alliance ⭐ Beatriz Costa Gomes, Research Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute ⭐ Elena Sinel FRSA, Founder & CEO of Teens in AI ⭐ Caroline Hurst, Senior Manager, Digital Child Rights and Safety at the LEGO Group ⭐ Nicola Osborne, Manager at Institute for Design Informatics, University of Edinburgh ⭐ Kiera Vaclavik, Professor of Children's Literature & Childhood Cultures at Queen Mary, University of London ⭐ Semeli Hadjiloizou, Researcher in Data Justice and Global Ethical Futures at the Alan Turing Institute 💡 Find out more about the Children’s AI Summit here: bit.ly/ChildrensAISummit #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #ChildrensAISummit 5Rights | Scottish AI Alliance | Teens in AI | the LEGO Group | The University of Edinburgh | Queen Mary University of London

At the Scottish AI Alliance, we always want to hear how AI is affecting the people of Scotland 🗣️ As we close in the year, we’d love to hear 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗜 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 this Christmas🎄 Share your thoughts/experiences in the comments below on how AI has impacted your life in 2024, whether good or bad 👇

Our AI team were at the Scottish AI Summit in Glasgow last week (hosted by our partners Scottish AI Alliance) to talk to attendees about the importance of children's rights in AI development and use. We spoke about the main challenges and barriers that people who work with AI face when it comes to incorporating the views of children.   We also introduced the participants to our new package of e-learning resources that focuses on AI and how it effects children and their rights. These resources are in the development phase and will be released early next year. We are currently looking for feedback to make sure they suit the needs of adults working with AI. If you're interested in sharing your thoughts on the first draft of our e-learning resources, get in touch and we can send them through. #AI #ChildrensRights #NationalSurvey #UNCRCScotland #ChildrenShapingAI

Children’s Parliament worked with four schools across the first two stages of the AI project. Following this, we sought the views of school staff from across Scotland, with the aim of gaining a clear understanding on how prepared and supported they feel to explore the topic of AI with children. A national survey was conducted in May and June 2024. The survey collected the views of more than 500 school leaders, teachers and support staff, all of whom work with children up to the age of 14.