WOMEN IN AI ETHICS ANNUAL EVENT 2020

Join Mia Dand, CEO of Lighthouse3 and Founder of Women in AI Ethics initiative and creator of “100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics” list designed to increase representation and recognition of talented women in this space as she kicks of this annual event with the mission of this global initiative and why we cannot talk about ethics of AI without inclusion of diverse voices.

Speaker bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miadand/

Buse Cetin is an independent AI policy and intersectionality consultant. She will share highlights on the unique challenges in AI Ethics around the world and women working in this space.

Speaker bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/busecetin/

In our regional spotlight on Africa, a critical yet underrepresented region for AI/tech, Dr.Dina Machuve will share her humble beginnings in AI, introduce us to other brilliant Black women trailblazers, and her own impactful work with poultry farmers in Africa for greater sustainability across the continent.

Dina Machuve is a lecturer and researcher at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) in Arusha, Tanzania. Her research focuses on developing data-driven solutions in Agriculture. She is an Early Career Fellow of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD). She serves on the organizing committee of Data Science Africa (DSA), an organization that runs an annual data science and machine learning summer school and workshop in Africa.

Speaker bio: https://nm-aist.ac.tz/index.php/dina

Join us for a candid conversation with senior research scientist and scholar, Dr.Timnit Gebru on her seminal work in uncovering racial bias in automated facial analysis algorithms and datasets, including the “Gender Shades” project, and get her thoughts on racial power dynamics, what meaningful actions for progress look like, and last but not Ethiopian food.

Speaker bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timnit-gebru-7b3b407/

In May 2020 the number of English biographies has reached 18%. 33 only women from the 100 Women in AI Ethics list have Wikipedia pages. Our objective is to increase the representation of brilliant women in AI Ethics on Wikipedia. Join Volha Litvinets as she walks you through this initiative and how you can get involved. Volha Litvinets is a PhD researcher in Philosophy working on AI Ethics, she has a large experience of working in the IT industry, specializing in search marketing strategy development & implementation

Speaker bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/litvinets/

With 100+ participants across 23 countries, the global AI Ethics program is designed to support women and non-binary folks in this space during these challenging times. Get the inside scoop from co-leads Rae Dand and Maya Gota on what makes this program so powerful.

More information on the AI Ethics Mentoring program: https://lighthouse3.com/mentoring/

Meet some of the amazing mentors and mentees in the Women in AI Ethics programs who will share why having the right mentor or mentee can change your life.

More information on the AI Ethics Mentoring program: https://lighthouse3.com/mentoring/

Learn Bhangra Dance

Today, activists and organizers who refuse to accept automated decision systems are dissenting against tech orthodoxy and re-imagining the place of technology in people’s everyday lives. The vision on offer prioritizes people and their ability to be well, be recognized, belong, be safe, be loved. Reflecting on Our Data Bodies, a participatory research and organizing project based in Charlotte, Detroit, and Los Angeles, Dr Seeta Peña Gangadharan discusses tech-centered solutions to bias and discrimination, tech power and injustice, and technological refusal and political possibilities.

Speaker bio: https://www.lse.ac.uk/media-and-communications/people/academic-staff/seeta-pena-gangadharan

Join Kathy Pham and Lili Gangas as they discuss the accelerated adoption of AI-powered automation in the times of Covid-19. They will share their personal experiences in marginalized communities where a large majority are essential workers whose jobs are disproportionally impacted and are at highest risk for automation. They will share some concrete solutions, which include upskilling underrepresented talent as well as ideas for centering the worker’s well-being during this transition.

Speaker bio/s:

Lili Gangas is the Chief Technology Community Officer at Kapor Center and a Tech Talent & Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builder.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/liligangas/

Kathy Pham is a computer scientist and product leader at the intersection of technology, ethics, public interest, civic tech, healthcare, and society. Currently co-leads the Responsible Computer Science Challenge at Mozilla, co-founder and advisor at Mozilla.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathytpham/

In this talk, Dr.Alex Hanna, Research Scientist, Ethical AI at Google Research will discuss the intersection of gender and AI, how AI can and does harm trans and gender-nonconforming people, and what we, as AI workers can do about it.

Dr. Alex Hanna is a Social scientist with experience in politics, natural language processing, and fairness in machine learning and AI who will share her approach on Bringing the People Back In and using participatory approaches to AI/ML.

Speaker bio: https://alex-hanna.com/

In this timely session, Ayodele Odubela will walk us through ways to build data teams that are diverse in demographic and thought; share best practices to foster an anti-racist work environment and build equity through team building. Learn how to adapt HR strategies and build diverse talent.

Ayodele Odubela is a Data Scientist working on driver risk mitigation at SambaSafety in Denver, CO. She earned her Master’s degree in Data Science after transitioning to tech from social media marketing. She’s created algorithms that predict consumer segment movement, goals in hockey, and the location of firearms using radio frequency sensors. Ayodele is passionate about using tech to improve the lives of marginalized people.

Speaker bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayodeleodubela/

In this session, Emilia Gomez will discuss the current state of AI in research, social justice and digital sectors in Europe.

Break with Yoga

Expert panelists Debra Ruh + Chhavi Chauhan + Ayushi Tandon will discuss the challenges and limitations associated with applying AI without engaging with diversity and situatedness of data. They will propose actionable recommendations to embrace and implement ethical, context-conscious and inclusive AI datasets that can provide meaningful and more humanitarian ways of approaching problems.

Format: Presentation, followed by live discussion

Target Audience: (All-general, technical, Healthcare professional, civil society working in health domain, Medical informatics, non-technical. Other – please specify)

Speaker Bio:
Debra Ruh – https://www.linkedin.com/in/debraruh/
Chhavi Chauhan – https://www.linkedin.com/in/chhavichauhan/
Ayushi Tandon – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayushi-tandon/

In this session, Paz Peña + Yadira Sanchez will discuss the current state of AI in research, social justice and digital sectors in Latin America.

Chile: Paz is an independent consultant on Human Rights, intersectionality, and digital technologies. She is also the secretary of Al Sur, an aggrupation of 11 organizations from seven countries in Latin America working on digital rights; and the co-creator of Acoso.Online, a website with information and recommendations for victims of “non-consensual pornography” on the internet in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since 2014 she has also been part of the collaborative council at Coding Rights Brazil. For eight years, she was the director of advocacy at Derechos Digitales América Latina and the public leader of Creative Commons Chile (2013-2015).

Speaker bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pazpena/

Mexico: Yadira is a research software developer from a rural community in Mexico. She will talk about key findings from her study on community resilience to crime and violence; and the implications in creating/using digital technologies to enable the sustainable development, resilience and empowerment of/by/with rural communities in Mexico.

Speaker bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yadira-sanchez/

Criminologist and criminal psychologist Renée Cummings will examine AI ethics and the criminal justice system. She will also explore the implications of Big Data policing and algorithms administering justice in sentencing and corrections. Against a backdrop of bias, discrimination and systemic racism, she will critically examine data used in criminal justice as a most dangerous perpetrator of injustices.

Bio: http://www.linkedin.com/in/renéecummings/

Artificial Intelligence enabled surveillance technology and military equipment has created a much needed conversation around data bias in technology and civilian privacy.   Communities all over the world are beginning to require the balance of power be restored between law enforcement and the community. Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology and Military Equipment (POSTME) offers a framework cities can adopt for acquiring new surveillance technologies and for using existing ones.  This framework promotes four guiding principles (Transparency, Oversight, Accountability and Equity).  We will take a look at the work happening in the City of Minneapolis by a coalition of community members to get POSTME draft ordinances passed.

Speaker/s: Elizabeth M. Adams

Speaker bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizadams/

Join us for a fascinating discussion with Anthropologist and author of “Ghost Work: How to Stop Silicon Valley from Building a New Global Underclass”, Mary L. Gray on the vast invisible human workforce that powers the services delivered by companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Uber. Explore the ethics of this new underclass that makes AI and technology seem “smart” while making less than legal minimum wage and who can be fired at will.

Speaker bio: https://ghostwork.info/ghost-work/

Yoga Break

This session reflects on the intersection of AI ethics and humanitarian innovation. We will highlight the opportunities and risks that AI, algorithms, machine learning and related technologies may pose to refugee rights and protection, and also recognize the ethical implications for vulnerable populations in a broader humanitarian context. We will draw attention to concrete AI ethical principles and policies needed to protect refugees’ rights and mitigate the risks they face. Our call for action goes to the AI community to adhere to these principles and consolidate further work with ethical standards of the humanitarian sector as the technology evolves.

Speakers: Branka Panic & Merve Hickok

Speakers bio:
https://www.aiforpeace.org/
https://linkedin.com/in/mervehickok

In this “keeping it real” session, Nalini Bharatula and Theodora Lau will discuss AI/tech industry’s bias against women, especially working mothers, share real world examples of how this leads to bias in algorithms, and meaningful ways to address this issue. Get insights from their personal journeys and walk away with some concrete solutions, including fostering an inclusive work environment that’s supportive of women building second careers in AI.

Speaker bio/s:

Theodora Lau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodoralau/

Nalini Bharatula: www.linkedin.com/in/nbharatula

Suzanne Kite and Dr. Melanie Cheung will discuss their contributions to a recently published position paper about the importance of Indigenous ethics in guiding ethical decision making for Artificial Intelligence from their perspectives as Oglála Lakȟóta and Ngāti Rangitihi women.

Kite aka Suzanne Kite is an Oglála Lakȟóta performance artist, visual artist, and composer raised in Southern California, with a BFA from CalArts in music composition, an MFA from Bard College’s Milton Avery Graduate School, and is a PhD candidate at Concordia University. Kite’s scholarship and practice investigate contemporary Lakota ontologies through research-creation, computational media, and performance.

Speaker bio: http://kitekitekitekite.com/

Dr Melanie Cheung is a Ngāti Rangitihi neurobiologist who is committed to exploring both Indigenous and Western scientific paradigms to help people who have brain disorders. Her work integrates innovative cutting-edge multidisciplinary science; world-class clinical practice (neuropsychiatry, physiotherapy, social work, community-based care, brain rehabilitation); with research ethics and practices centered on Māori concepts and intensive Indigenous community engagement She is currently the Research Director at Te Puna Ora o Mataatua, a Māori Health organisation at the frontline of COVID-19 Māori community response, testing and research with/for/by Māori.

Speaker bio: https://www.indigenous-ai.net/modelling-ai-off-the-human-brain

AI Ethics in China

Alice Xiang, Head of Fairness, Transparency, and Accountability Research at the Partnership on AI who recently taught a course on “Algorithmic Fairness, Causal Inference, and the Law” at Tsinghua University’s Yau Mathematical Sciences Center, where she was a Visiting Scholar. She will share her insights on the state of AI Ethics in China.

Speaker bio: https://www.partnershiponai.org/team/alice-xiang/

AI Ethics in India

Ayushi Tandor will share the key issues in AI Ethics in the world’s largest democracy.

Speaker bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayushi-tandon/

AI Ethics in Australia

Australia has had some challenging issues lately with Bush fires. That remains to be seen, in Australia artificial intelligence is both engaged in activity devastating to the environment and possibly to assist in future challenges the country is facing due to the changing environment. Here Angela Kim will share AI ethics strategies and the new AI roadmap released in 2019.

Speaker bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-kim-b3203a6b/

Sessions Break

We will kick off the evening session of Women in AI Ethics annual event hosted by Microsoft with a few remarks from Mia Dand, CEO of Lighthouse3 and Founder of Women in AI Ethics initiative and creator of “100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics” list designed to increase representation and recognition of talented women in this space.

Speaker bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miadand/

In this insightful panel discussion, we will dive deep into the current state of diversity and ethics in AI, which metrics are most meaningful, and how we can accelerate progress.

Panelists:
– Dr. Arathi Sethumadhavan, Head of User Research for Ethics & Society at Microsoft Cloud + AI https://www.linkedin.com/in/drarathisethumadhavan/
– Kay Firth-Butterfield, Head of AI and Machine Learning and Member of the Executive Committee at World Economic Forum https://www.linkedin.com/in/kay-firth-butterfield-b5b3853a/
– Rose Margaret Ekeng-Itua, Professor of Engineering, Ohlone College https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-margaret-ekeng-itua-b4317719/
– Mia Shah-Dand (moderator), CEO – Lighthouse3, Founder – Women in AI Ethics https://www.linkedin.com/in/miadand/

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Harms Modeling is a practice designed to help tech builders anticipate real-world repercussions of technologies they are building so they can identify gaps in product that could put people at risk, then create approaches that proactively address harm. Similar to Security Threat Modeling, Harms Modeling enables product teams to anticipate potential real-world impacts of technology, which is a cornerstone of responsible development. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to the technique and get hands-on experience through several guided Harms Modeling exercises to learn how they can apply it in their own companies and organizations.

Speaker: Harmony Mabrey, Harms Modeling Lead, Microsoft Ethics & Society

Harms Modeling is a practice designed to help tech builders anticipate real-world repercussions of technologies they are building so they can identify gaps in product that could put people at risk, then create approaches that proactively address harm. Similar to Security Threat Modeling, Harms Modeling enables product teams to anticipate potential real-world impacts of technology, which is a cornerstone of responsible development. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to the technique and get hands-on experience through several guided Harms Modeling exercises to learn how they can apply it in their own companies and organizations.

Speaker: Harmony Mabrey, Harms Modeling Lead, Microsoft Ethics & Society

Bio: Harmony Mabrey leads Microsoft’s Cloud + AI approach to anticipating the ways technology could potentially cause harm to individuals and society and working with product teams to design for aspirational outcomes instead. Technology areas she has led assessment for include: IoT platforms, computer vision, face recognition, line of business applications, and mixed reality. During her first 7+ years with Microsoft, she led the company’s global disaster responses, providing technology that helped responders deliver support more effectively and helped communities to begin to recover after natural disasters. Some of the responses she led include: earthquakes in Haiti, Nepal, and Japan, typhoons/tornadoes in the Philippines and the US, as well as H1N1 and Ebola outbreaks. This experience made her an advocate for the responsibility of technologists to participate with communities to define how technology will impact the world.

Closing Remarks

Women in AI Ethics (WAIE) is a global initiative by Lighthouse3, a strategic research and advisory firm based in Oakland, California 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.

This initiative started as a humble list created by Mia Shah-Dand, CEO of Lighthouse3, to recognize talented women in this space and is now a global online directory. The “100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics” 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.

We used the 6 dimensions of AI Ethics as our framework and we consulted our WAIE directory for speakers who not only had expertise in that area but also represented or advocated for a diversity segment. You can find more details on our criteria here.

Absolutely. We understand attending an all-day event is very challenging. We’ll be on the same zoom link all day so feel free to join and drop and rejoin as your life allows.

Please contact Zoom tech support for any technical issues.

Please check your junk mail as sometimes Eventbrite emails get flagged as spam. If you still can’t find it, please send your registration confirmation email and order details to Team@Lighthouse3.com.

Yes. Recording of the event will be sent to all registered attendees and will include audio transcription in English.

We wanted to include as many speakers as possible and give our audience an opportunity to learn about many diverse perspectives on today’s most challenging ethical issues in AI. For speakers who have agreed to stay after their session, we will set up a Basecamp persistent space so you can continue the conversation. For those who are not available, we will ask them for the best way to contact them. Their LinkedIn profile is available on the event agenda’s above.

Recording of the event will be sent to all registered attendees and will include audio transcription in English. We also shared accessibility best practices with our speakers so their presentations are easy to follow. Unfortunately, we won’t have live captioning but we suggest using Google Meet https://meet.google.com/ (start a new meeting in a new window) and use their live captioning option, in addition to logging into Zoom for the main event. Please reach out to us Team@Lighthouse3.com if you need additional accommodations.