LIA Blog: Week 1
After a long (13 hours!) train journey from Sussex to Berlin, which included robbery of a camera and charger I had left on the Eurostar, fellow Laidlaw scholar Ben Berman and I made it to Berlin on Monday.
Less than 12 hours after arrival we showed up to the Alexander von Humboldt institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) and met some of the team for Impact AI, with whom we would be working.
In an extremely relaxed and open plan office HIIG accommodates multiple research projects, dozens of interdisciplinary researchers, fellows and students and of course a sparkling water tap (Ben’s favourite part). After watching ‘The Backrooms’ on Wednesday, we are very grateful to be in one of the least liminal offices I’ve ever seen.
Impact AI is one of these projects. The team here has set out to create an auditing methodology for ‘AI for good’ projects. Having noticed that NGO’s, Charities and research programs are increasingly using AI as part of their tools and projects, HIIG asks it is really necessary. It’s all well and good to crowbar AI into a fact checking service, but if it does so at the expense of the environment or in fact introduces bias, discrimination and lack of accountability, is it really worth it? As a result the team has conducted extensive interviews with four AI projects to stress-test their method and produce reports on their conduct - specifically asking if their actions are in the public interest and sustainable.
We have been parachuted in to code these interviews and other qualitative data, prior to analysis, provide a fresh set of eyes on their method (coming from our own disciplines) and to lend a helping hand with their english grammar (a task perfect for two over-eager pedants).
The first week has primarily involved getting to grips with the MAXQDA coding software, introductions with colleagues and researchers and catching up on their prior work and methodology. Nonetheless we feel proud to have already helped proofread a paper that will be presented at a conference, make some suggestions about the method and get stuck in sifting through the large amount of data. In general we do not like bullsh*t (whats the scholars network policy on langauge I wonder), meant in the academic sense (Frankfurt, 1986), and Impact AI is in many ways the bullsh*t busters. As a result we are very taken with the project.
Whilst everything has gone swimmingly (aside from having to spend 3 nights in a Generator Inn hostel), there may have been some room for improvement. A tad more preparation, some German phrases, and a bit more focus would not have gone amiss. We have been proud of our confidence and ambition, as well as what I consider a good balance between humility and challenging our colleagues. However, we must ensure to stay driven, and not get too big for our Berlin boots! Ethically we have been very mindful, as the project itself is so reflective. Its nature keeps the ethical spotlight on the projects it audits, its own methodology, and ourselves.
Having moved in to our apartment, immediately adopting the conversational style of a married couple, we are now settled and domestic. This, and Ben’s homemade hot sauce, should fuel us for the coming week. Focusing next week on staying collaborative, intentional and transcendent, we hope to come in to the office raring to go on Monday, so long as the Berlin weekend doesn't take us out first….
I am a third year student reading Philosophy, Politics and Eocnomics at St Catherine's College Oxford and am a Laidlaw research scholar in association with the SDG Impact Lab. I undertook my LIA with the Humboldt institute for society and internet in Berlin looking at how to impact assess ‘AI for good’ projects.
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Dear Albee,
Thank you for sharing this week's reflection. It is an entertaining and engaging read, and your personality comes through very clearly. I particularly enjoyed the way you balanced humour with thoughtful observations about the work of the Impact AI team. It is evident that both you and Ben have embraced the opportunity to contribute meaningfully from the outset and have already begun adding value through proofreading, methodological discussions, and qualitative coding.
I was particularly interested in your description of entering an established research environment and being asked to provide 'fresh eyes' on both the methodology and the data. This is a significant responsibility, particularly in a project that is itself concerned with accountability, ethics, and public interest. Your reflections suggest that you understand the importance of approaching this role with both confidence and humility, which is a balance that many leaders spend years trying to develop.
As you continue your Leadership in Action journey, I would encourage you to also consider the leadership dimensions of your experience. I would be interested to hear more about how you are exercising leadership in practice. For example:
Your comment about maintaining 'a good balance between humility and challenging our colleagues' is particularly interesting and potentially rich for reflection. Leadership often involves precisely this tension: being confident enough to ask difficult questions while remaining open to the possibility that your own perspective may be incomplete. I would encourage you to unpack this further in future entries, perhaps with specific examples of situations where you found this balance difficult or rewarding.
I also think there is an opportunity to reflect further on the ethical dimensions of leadership. You note that the project itself keeps 'the ethical spotlight' on both the organisations being audited and the researchers conducting the audit. This raises fascinating questions about responsibility, accountability, and power. How has working on a project that evaluates the actions of others influenced your own thinking about ethical leadership? Has it changed the way you approach your own decision-making or interactions within the team?
Finally, I appreciated your honest acknowledgement that more preparation might have been useful. It is difficult to fully prepared for every situation; but I know you will recognise gaps, adapt quickly, and learn from experience. The fact that you are already reflecting critically on what could have gone better is a positive sign of that mindset.
Overall, this is a very strong start. Your enthusiasm for the project is clear, and the reflective elements around humility, challenge, ethics, and collaboration offer excellent foundations for deeper leadership reflection in the weeks ahead. I look forward to seeing how your understanding of leadership develops as you continue to navigate both the research environment and life in Berlin.
Best wishes,
Ben
P.S. Sorry to hear about the camera and charger. Did you file a report with the police? If so you might be able to claim it through your insurance?
Dear Albee,
Oh lovely we are both learning new programming systems for our organization!
I never knew Harry Frankfurt wrote an essay on that topic! Prompted me to look into him more. Do you agree with his vision of compatibilism and moral responsibility? I am quite skeptical of any attempt to tie moral responsibility to concepts of praise and blame.
Best,
Peter Tarson
Can’t say I recall what his attempts were. In my head he’s generally pretty good but not sure in this case. His essay on Bullshit really is a nice read though.