All participants and speakers at our events are required to agree with the following code of conduct. MAIEI staff will enforce this code throughout the event. We are expecting cooperation from all participants to help ensure a safe and productive environment for everybody.
- The Deed
- The Full Policy
- Expected Behaviour
- Inclusion and Diversity
- Unacceptable Behaviour
- Consequences of Unacceptable Behaviour
- Reporting (personally or anonymously)
THE DEED (THE SHORT VERSION)
The Montreal AI Ethics Institute is dedicated to providing a harassment-free event experience for everyone regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age or religion. Everyone’s voice is valued. Additionally, we welcome people of all academic and professional backgrounds as well as level of expertise in AI. We do not tolerate harassment of event attendees in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any event. Event attendees violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the event at the discretion of the event organizers.
MORE DETAIL (FULL POLICY)
Harassment includes verbal comments that reinforce social structures of domination related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion; sexual images in public/virtual spaces; deliberate intimidation; stalking; harassing photography or recording; sustained disruption of talks or other events; and unwelcome sexual attention. Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.
We operate our meetups under Chatham House Rules and as such, do not record sessions. The Chatham House Rules are as follows: “When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.” Note: from time to time, names may be written in the associated meeting notes. They are only jotted down if any clarification is needed and will not be used otherwise.
EXPECTED BEHAVIOR
The following behaviors are expected and requested of all community members:
- Please be prompt and on-time in joining the session as it helps to smoothen the facilitation of the event and improves the experience for all participants.
- We encourage you to take some time prior to the session to familiarize yourself with the assigned readings. This is essential in respecting the efforts of other participants so that the discussions are focused and relevant.
- Allow the facilitators to moderate the conversation flow so that we can through all the questions within the time allotted for discussion.
- For each question, the facilitator begins by going around the room and asks each participant to respond to the question. After everyone has spoken once, we open up the discussion so people can respond to points and bring up new points.
- Participate in an authentic and active way. In doing so, you contribute to the health and longevity of this community.
- Please keep your video on if you’re comfortable. This helps the facilitators gauge whether you want to say something, as well as provide us with some welcomed face-to-face interaction!
- Please stay on “mute” when others are talking. This helps prevent any unintentional feedback and background noise, helping with the quality of the call.
- If you have any technical issues, let the staff know (either spoken or written).
- Exercise consideration and respect in your speech and actions.
- Attempt collaboration before conflict.
- Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior and speech.
- Be mindful of your fellow participants. Alert the conference organizers if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this Code of Conduct, even if they seem inconsequential.
INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY
The Montreal AI Ethics Institute’s community is a diverse and vibrant one; we welcome and encourage participation by everyone. We also support a healthy dose of debate in conversations, as long as it’s respectful and constructive.
Everyone is welcome regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion, academic experience, professional background, or level of AI expertise.
UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR
- Violence, threats of violence or violent language directed against another person.
- Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist or otherwise discriminatory jokes, language, and/or images.
- Posting or displaying sexually explicit or violent material.
- Posting or threatening to post other people’s personally identifying information (“doxing”).
- Personal insults, particularly those related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability.
- Inappropriate photography or recording. (Our sessions are not recorded)
- Unwelcome sexual attention. This includes, but is not limited to, sexualized comments or jokes and unwelcome sexual advances.
- Deliberate intimidation, stalking or following (online or in person).
- Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
- Sustained disruption of community events, including talks, presentations, and conversations.
CONSEQUENCES OF UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR
Unacceptable behavior from any community member and those with decision-making authority will not be tolerated.
We expect participants to follow this code of conduct on all channels of communication (including private messages) and platforms related to the event. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately.
If a community member engages in unacceptable behavior, the community organizers may take any action they deem appropriate: this could include giving a warning to the offending party, removing the offending party from the virtual event, and/or a temporary ban or permanent expulsion from the community.
REPORTING
If someone makes you or anyone else feel unsafe or unwelcome, please report it as soon as possible. Harassment and other code of conduct violations reduce the value of our event for everyone. We want you to be safe and happy at our event. People like you make our event a better place.
With the move to a fully virtual meetup format, we recognize the risk for online trolling has increased. This behaviour is unacceptable, and the organizers will be monitoring the various platforms associated with the meetups and will act decisively and swiftly to end behaviour they deem trolling.
You can make a report either personally or anonymously. Reporting personally can be done directly to event staff at [email protected]. Anonymous reporting can be done here.
Event staff will assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the conference. We value your participation.
This document draws on: