ELSA lab AI-MAPS

Centre of Expertise Global and Inclusive Learning

AI-MAPS

AI-MAPS stands for “AI Multi‐Agency Public Safety Issues” and is a 5-year practice-oriented research project (2022-2027) financed by NWO under its ELSA Lab programme, led by Erasmus University Rotterdam. It focuses on three themes to address the role of AI in key security challenges: 

  •  Social disorder and public nuisances in neighbourhoods
  •  High-impact crime ​ 
  • Crowds and events.​     

For the first use case under the heading „Crowds and events”, the researchers observed and analysed the use of digital surveillance technology during the climate protests on the A12. 

The project includes six implementation partners, including THUAS. GIL and MLR senior researcher Sylvia Bergh is coordinating the inputs on the THUAS side, together with senior lecturer in legal technology Kanan Dhru.  More information about the project can be found here.   

Sylvia and Kanan wrote a blog post recently describing the THUAS involvement and future plans in this project. Among other things, we would like to involve AI-MAPS researchers in the activities of the THUAS Community of Practice AI & Data Science. We are keen to develop a collaborative research agenda on AI and public safety issues. The EU AI law is an example of what we could study together, as the tensions between protecting individual privacy and public safety are a core topic. We also see great potential for the AI-MAPS project to contribute to making relations between the state, society, and private sector (big data companies) in the public safety field more just and equitable, beyond The Netherlands. 

Besides enriching our networks and research agendas, our continued involvement will also allow us to ensure that project findings will find their way into relevant educational programmes at THUAS, such as the new Bachelor's degree programme in Applied Data Science & AI, Finally, we are excited about the International and European Law Programme's support for our idea to host quarterly meetings to which we will invite AI-MAPS researchers and partners as speakers, so that THUAS students and lecturers can learn from the project's findings and gain insight into policy conversations around AI. 

This project is led by Sylvia I. Bergh at [email protected] and Kanan Dhru at [email protected]