Canadian, French, and British research groups launch workshops on responsible use of artificial intelligence

Machine learning and the use of robots are transforming a variety of fields, including manufacturing, transportation, medicine, policing, and the application of military force.

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence is also generating anxiety in some quarters about where this will all lead.

At the more extreme end, billionaire businessman Mark Cuban has predicted that it will lead to a real-life Terminator.

The original, of course, was a cyborg assassin played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the hit 1984 movie.

It gave rise to one of his most famous lines: "Hasta la vista, baby."

Those fears about machine learning will likely be reinforced when the next installment, Terminator 6: Dark Fate, is released later this year.

It will come as researchers from three countries are grappling to address the economic, ethical, policy, and legal implications of AI.

The Canadian Institute for Advance Research, also known as CIFAR, has teamed up with the French National Centre for Scientific Research and U.K. Research and Innovation on a series of workshops from June 2019 to June 2020.

Taking place across Canada, France, and the U.K., these meetings will gather perspectives from a variety of academic disciplines, including law, engineering, computer science, the social sciences, and the humanities.

“AI is being adopted around the world. It’s critical that we develop new ways to understand what the implications are across populations, sectors and disciplines," CIFAR president and CEO Alan Bernstein says on the organization's website. "CIFAR is thrilled to partner with France and the UK to advance understanding on AI in society.”

There are eight themes that will be examined:

* AI and the curation of culture, including the impact on how music, film, and books are produced and consumed;

* AI and future Arctic conflicts as the sea ice melts and permafrost thaws;

* trust in AI systems;

* ethical and societal implications of AI medicine, including how it will disrupt the work of doctors;

* the fusion of law and science with regard to AI and health care, including the protection of patient safety and privacy;

* sustainability in the digital age, which will examine the ethical implications of applying AI to target climate change;

* social dynamics and culture of AI, including its potential impact on ethnic, gender, and sociocultural discrimination;

* and fairness, interpretation, and privacy for algorithmic systems.