Open directory of 100 Brilliant Women working on AI Ethics

About the Open directory of 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics™.

About

Given the pervasiveness of biased Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms and risk to human lives from flawed AI systems, there is an urgent need for open discussion and concrete action to address the perils of unchecked AI.

We can’t talk about ethics in AI without inclusion of women and other marginalized groups that are traditionally underrepresented in AI/tech. The Women in AI Ethics™ (WAIE) is a global initiative with a mission to increase recognition, representation, and empowerment of women in AI Ethics. This initiative started with the first 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics™ list in 2018, which is now published annually to recognize rising stars as well as pioneers in this space. To increase representation of women at AI/tech conferences and companies, we have also launched an open online directory of Women in AI Ethics™ to make it easier for conference organizers and recruiters to recruit talented women working hard to make AI ethical, inclusive, and accessible for all.

The Women in AI Ethics™ (WAIE) is a fiscally sponsored project of Social Good Fund, a California nonprofit corporation and registered 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to increase recognition, representation, and empowerment of brilliant women in this space who are working hard to save humanity from the dark side of AI.. It is funded by Lighthouse3, donations, and ticket sales. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law and used to fund mission-aligned activities, which includes but is not limited to providing free AI Ethics career resources, hosting community events, and funding other initiatives to support women in this space.

This initiative launched in 2018 with the publication of the first 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics™ list created by Mia Shah-Dand, CEO and Founder of Lighthouse3 an emerging technology research and advisory firm based in Oakland, California to recognize talented women in this space and is now a global online directory. The list is published annually to highlight rising stars as well as aspiring women from non-technical fields as part of our continuing effort to make AI more diverse and accessible for everyone. You can read more about our intersectional approach to diversity here.

The exponential growth of AI and potential for significant harm necessitates a comprehensive and inclusive approach. After an extensive evaluation of the AI ecosystem and implications of AI, we have developed a holistic framework for AI + Ethics with 6 key focus areas that consider all ethical implications of AI beyond just technology. It is intentionally designed to expand critical discussions on the ethics of AI to include diverse perspectives from non-technical disciplines.

COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS + SAFETY

Provide guardrails and guidance for development of commercial autonomous systems, artificial agents that are ethical and safe.
DIGITAL + PHYSICAL SAFETY

Establish safeguards against threats to digital and physical safety through deep-fakes, bots, autonomous weapons, and bio/neural AI.
FAIRNESS + ACCOUNTABILITY

Ensure AI/ML models are transparent, explainable, fair, and accountable so they do not reflect and amplify the biases of their creators.
PRIVACY AND DATA RIGHTS

Ensure that data for AI/ML is gathered (surveillance), shared (consent) ethically and secured against unethical uses (security).
ROLES + RIGHTS

Mitigate disruption of human lives, rights, roles, and relationships as AI replaces humans through automation & human-like systems.
SOCIETY + SUSTAINABILITY

Promote use of AI for social good, through access for marginalized groups, mitigation of environmental impact, and development of public interest policies.

These dimensions are not mutually exclusive but rather this framework allows us to address each significant issue individually without losing sight of the interconnectedness of the different parts. For example: AI automation causes jobs displacement so while it’s important to look at ethics of intelligent systems, we must not lose sight of the displaced workers who will need skills and training to navigate this new world.

Please mail us at diversityinAI@gmail.com for any revisions to an existing entry with “Revision” in the subject line or “Opt out” if you do not want to be included in this directory.

WAIE Collective (incl. Regional Chapter Leaders)

It takes a village and the support of many to keep this initiative growing! Many thanks to these amazing women who have signed up to lead these different dimensions so we can continue to recognize more talented women in the space of AI Ethics.

To support our vision for true inclusion and diversity in 2020, we’ve made regional expansion a key priority and to fulfill that mission, we’ve identified and nominated regional chapter leaders to raise awareness and nominate amazing women working in AI Ethics in their region.