CogSci 2020 Queer in AI Social

Organized by Ida Momennejad and Natalia Bilenko

Queer in AI is organizing a virtual social at CogSci 2020 on July 30 at 18:00-19:30 UTC (use this link to convert into your timezone). People of all identities (including allies) with a CogSci registration are invited to attend! Please let us know if you need help with funding for registration (by emailing queerinai@gmail.com).

Overview & how to join

The first half-hour of the social will include a presentation from the organizers and mini-speeches by the speakers. The next hour of the social will consist of informal discussions in the form of zoom breakout rooms. Joining details have been shared via our mailing list and slack group. If you are trying to join and don't know how, please get in touch with us at queerinai@gmail.com!

Check-in survey

We'd like to know attendance counts for our events. Please fill in our check-in survey - you can fill it in anonymously!

Discussion topics

Data on gender identity and sexual orientation (following the talk by guest speaker Jon Freeman on his efforts regarding collection of these data in U.S. STEM workforce surveys administered by NSF)
Anti-racism in queer communities
COVID-19 and effects on LGBTQIA+ researchers
LGTBQIA+ experiences in academia and beyond

Jon Freeman (he/him): Jon Freeman is a social neuroscientist and associate professor of psychology and neural science at New York University, where he directs the Social Cognitive & Neural Sciences Lab. His research focuses on the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying split-second social perception and bias. He will discuss recent data on LGBTQ disparities in STEM, his ongoing efforts urging the National Science Foundation to include sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) questions in the national STEM census, and the importance of SOGI data for understanding and addressing the challenges LGBTQ people face in U.S. STEM fields. Twitter: @freemanjb

Call for Volunteers and Topics

Please use this form to submit topics for discussions:

on the experiences of queer researchers, especially those with intersectional and marginalized identities,
how AI is and can be affecting queer people,
how queer ideas can improve AI.

We are also looking for volunteers to moderate a break-out room for Queer in AI social. Please do sign up using that form.

Code of Conduct

Please read Queer in AI code of conduct which will be strictly followed in the social in addition to the Conference of the Cognitive Science Society code of conduct. Recording (screen recording or screenshots) is prohibited. All participants are expected to maintain the confidentiality of the members. Any participant who experiences harassment or hostile behavior may contact Queer in AI Safety Team.