100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics™

Join us on December 3-5, 2020 as over 25 activists, social scientists, data scientists, engineers, artists, researchers, policy makers, anthropologists, and other brilliant women from technical AND non-technical backgrounds from around the world come together to showcase how diversity leads to more ethical and inclusive AI that works for ALL of us! Get ready for 3 days of inspiring talks, engaging workshops, insightful discussions and celebrate the brilliant women working hard to make sure that the AI includes ALL our voices.

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.

VOICES

Our Speakers

Team member
Dr. Alex Hanna
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Dr. Rachel Kuo
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Meredith Whittaker
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Tawana Petty
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Doreen Bogdan-Martin
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Ginger Chen
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Andreza Rocha
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Heather Dowdy
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Mia Shah-Dand
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Chhavi Chauhan
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Merve Hickok
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Nina da Hora
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Ayodele Odubela
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Ayushi Tandon
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Suzanne Kite
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Jiun Kimm
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Syeda Zainab Akbar
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Giselle Melo
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Lia Coleman
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Kiran Samuel
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Kandrea Wade
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Volha Litvinets
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Hessie Jones
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Kira Goldner
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Alija Blackwell
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Alex Ahmed
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Anna Lauren Hoffmann
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Sinit Zeru

WHAT TO EXPECT

Agenda

Our 4 main themes for this year are:

  1. Activism/Advocacy in AI Get tools and hear firsthand from the leading activists and advocates on the front-lines of battle against unethical uses of AI.
  2. Building Inclusive & Diverse AI Learn how to build more inclusive AI with tools, frameworks, and diverse teams.
  3. WAIE around the World Hear from underrepresented voices in the regions doing meaningful work in AI.
  4. Careers & Opportunities in AI Ethics Hear from successful women in this space who will share their journey and help us build the next wave of WAIE talent.

100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics™ Summit – December 3-5, 2020 AUDIENCE FAQs

Convert U.S. Pacific Standard Time to your Time Zone.

December 3

Pre-Summit Workshop

U.S. Pacific Standard Time

8:00AM to 8:30AM - Pre-Summit Opening Remarks

Speaker Bio:

Mia Shah-Dand – https://twitter.com/MiaD

8:35AM to 9:30AM - Fireside Chat with Tawana Petty

Building a World Without Mass Surveillance

Cities are spending millions of dollars to surveil its residents, ignoring the fact that these invasive programs have shown little to no impact on crime. We’ve invited highly respected and admired social justice organizer, youth advocate, and author Tawana Petty for a powerful conversation on why we need to rein in insidious surveillance technologies and how we can collectively stop their devastating impact on Black and brown communities.

Speaker Bio:

Tawana Petty is a mother, social justice organizer, youth advocate, poet and author intricately involved in water rights advocacy, data and digital privacy education, and racial justice and equity work based in Detroit. She is a non-resident fellow with the Digital Civil Society Lab at Stanford PACS, a convening member of the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition, and a former fellow and current anti-racism facilitator with the Detroit Equity Action Lab (DEAL). Former director of the Data Justice Program at Detroit Community Technology Project. Co-founder of Our Data Bodies, a five-person team concerned with the ways our communities’ digital information is collected, stored, and shared by government and corporations.

Twitter: @Combsthepoet

9:35AM to 10:50AM - Building Diverse AI Datasets for Healthcare

In this workshop, the speakers will review the challenges in ensuring data diversity and explore solutions for building equity and eliminating bias in AI datasets for Healthcare & Precision Medicine. In this interactive session you will participate in a collaborative session where you will walk through different aspects of the data gathering and debiasing process.

Speaker Bio:

Chhavi Chauhan – https://www.linkedin.com/in/chhavichauhan/
Ayushi Tandon – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayushi-tandon/
Peju Oshinaya – https://www.linkedin.com/in/peju-oshisanya-9b937a9/

10:50AM to 11:00AM BREAK - BHANGRA

10 Min Break for Bhangra

11:00AM to 12:10PM - Practicing Refusal: Strategies for Collective Liberation and Alternative Tech Futures

A holistic approach to the structural harms perpetuated by AI systems requires more than computational solutions and better regulation in order to shift scales of power. In this workshop, the speakers offer an overview of the current debate between technological reform and practices of refusal. Together, participants will explore alternative ways to respond to harm and reimagine safety — beyond security — as a way to strategize for collective liberation.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Rachel Kuo, Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Information, Technology and Public Life at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachelkuo

Kiran Samuel, PhD Student, Department of Sociology, Columbia University

Twitter: https://twitter.com/donnakiran

12:15PM to 01:30PM - Building Diverse AI Teams

In this interactive session the speaker will cover ways to build data teams that are diverse in demographic and thought. Foster an anti-racist work environment and build equity through team building. Learn how to adapt HR strategies and build diverse Talent.

Speaker Bio:

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.

Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayodeleodubela/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/DataSciBae

01:30PM to 01:35PM BREAK - YOGA

10 Min Break for Yoga

01:35PM to 02:10PM - AI for Intergenerational Healing

Join a speculative design workshop to envision the possibilities of AI to facilitate intergenerational healing through inclusive data models and accountable practices by reimagining AI case studies that have replicated systems of harm. By examining the historical uses of AI- i.e. predictive policing, surveillance economy, and – we will identify practices to design more equitable and accountable systems. If you have been searching to build community with others to engage in redesigning our sociotechno culture for more just quantum futures, this workshop will serve as a platform to surface the alternative possibilities of AI.

Speaker Bio:

Alija (Ashley) Blackwell is a Creative Technologist passionate about data protection and AI for social good. They have experience in facilitating participatory design, supporting monitoring and compliance in the Department of Education, and multimedia storytelling. Alija has a B.A. Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia with certificates in Digital Media and Data Science.

Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/blackwell/

02:15PM to 02:40PM - Wikipedia - Women in AI Ethics

Speaker Bio:

Volha Litvinets

Twitter – https://twitter.com/volhalitvinets

Hessie Jones

Twitter – https://twitter.com/hessiejones

02:45PM to 03:00PM - Closing Remarks

Speaker Bio:

Mia Shah-Dand – https://twitter.com/MiaD

December 4

Summit Day 1

U.S. Pacific Standard Time

08:00AM to 8:15AM Day 1 - Event Open

Speaker Bio:

Mia Shah-Dand – https://twitter.com/MiaD

08:20AM to 8:30AM Opening Remarks by Doreen Bogdan-Martin

Speaker Bio:

Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, International Telecommunication Union

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ITU_BDTDirector

08:35AM to 9:30AM Fireside Chat with Meredith Whittaker

Challenging the Power Structures in Tech and Organizing for Lasting Change

Join us for this not-to-be-missed fireside chat with the fierce Meredith Whittaker who was the leading force behind the “Time is Up’ walk out at Google to stop worker abuse at the world’s leading tech giant and is continuing her fight for worker rights to ensure their voices are not drowned out by the powerful forces in tech. Hear first-hand what inspired her to take action, why we should all care about workers’ rights, and learn how we can collectively mobilize for meaningful lasting change.

Speaker Bio:

Meredith Whittaker is the Minderoo Research Professor at New York University and the founder of Google’s Open Research group and co-founder of the AI Now Institute. Her research and advocacy focus on the social implications of artificial intelligence and the tech industry responsible for it, with a particular emphasis on power and the political economy driving the commercialization of computational technology.

Prior to NYU, she worked at Google for over a decade, where she led product and engineering teams, founded Google’s Open Research Group, and co-founded M-Lab, a globally distributed network measurement platform that now provides the world’s largest source of open data on internet performance. She also worked extensively on issues of privacy and security, helping provide funding, strategy, and support for efforts dedicated to providing privacy from governments and large tech corporations. As a long-time tech worker, she also helped lead labor organizing at Google.

She was one of the core organizers pushing back against Google’s military contracts, the company’s insufficient response to concerns about AI and its harms, and was a central organizer of the Google Walkout.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mer__edith

09:35AM to 10:45AM Gender & AI Panel Discussion

Join Alex Ahmed (Postdoc, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon), Alex Hanna (Sr. Research Scientist, Ethical AI, Google), Anna Lauren Hoffmann (Assistant Professor, School of Information, University of Washington), and Kandrea Wade (PhD Student, College of Media, Communication and Information, University of Colorado Boulder) as they have a frank and thought-provoking panel discussion on the intersection of race, gender, and AI, the failures of algorithmic identity, and inclusion in AI.

10:45AM to 11:30AM Black Women in Technology: Brazilian Context

“Brazil has the largest black population outside Africa and the second largest on the planet. Despite all the inequality indicators, we have incredible Black women in IT & Innovation, which the world needs to know!”

Speaker Bio:

Andreza Rocha

Restless, curious and creative. These three words describe a good part of her lifestyle, work and leadership.

At BrazilJS, in addition to being a partner, Andreza leads Operations and Diversity. Her position contemplates, plans, manages and executes the strategy of these pillars in an integrated manner. Besides of course, among other things, being a co-host of their YouTube channel.

Working in the people management area for over 15 years, she has had a series of different experiences, but most of the time she was focused on R & Sel.
In a complementary way, she has developed projects in Internal Communication, Internal Marketing, Training and Events.

She is a founder and a leader of #ATH; building a new proposal to guide Racial Diversity, technology and innovation.

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrezarocha/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/passalanorh

11:30AM to 11:45AM BREAK - YOGA

15 Mins Break for Yoga

11:45AM to 12:40PM Designing AI for Accessibility

The future is not yet accessible. How could AI unlock new solutions in assistive technology and access to technology for over 1 billion people around the world living with disabilities? Come explore cutting-edge issues and ethical considerations around AI and disability.

Speaker Bio:

With nearly 15 years of experience developing and demonstrating accessible technology in mobile, web and artificial intelligence, Heather Dowdy is passionate about connecting the dots across disability, race, and tech. She currently leads Partner Engagements for the Microsoft AI for Accessibility grant program. Heather is responsible for nurturing the growing number of global partnerships with startups, researchers, and NGOs and providing grantees with resources to scale the impact of technology for people with disabilities.

She loves using the design thinking process to create solutions that empower marginalized communities and improve usability for everyone. A strong believer in empowering communities through education and benevolence, Heather is the co-founder of Microsoft Ninja Camp, providing STEM leadership training to high school students with disabilities.Heather obtained her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A native Chicagoan, she can now be found exploring the beauty of the Pacific Northwest with her husband and three young children. Heather also enjoys reading, journaling, and interacting with different cultures while traveling abroad.

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherdowdy/
Twitter – @heatherdbuilds

12:45PM to 01:30PM Time to Invest in Underrepresented Founders

Discussion between Giselle Melo, Founder and GP Matr Ventures and Jiun Kimm, Samsung Next – discussion between two venture investment executives.

While technology, in recent years, has surfaced the unfairness and data bias, and systemic racism that are endemic in our society, the social injustices that have plagued the Black community in the wake of George Floyd, Jacob Blake and Breonna Taylor are the catalysts that have created an urgency to remedy these problems now. We will speak to two leaders in the Venture Fund space, Giselle Melo, Founder and General Partner, MATR Ventures and Jiun Kimm, Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Samsung NEXT who will tell their stories and provide you their hope and vision for making a significant economic impact for innovators in these communities.

Speaker Bio:

Jiun Kimm, Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Samsung NEXT

Jiun is the Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Samsung Next. In her role, she strengthens internal support and programs for underrepresented groups, and leads strategy and thought leadership to increase Next’s engagement with underrepresented founders, empowering a global tech ecosystem that is more diverse and inclusive.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiun-kimm-7584aa41/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jiunkimm

Giselle Melo, Founder, General Partner, MATR Ventures

Giselle founded Matr Ventures to invest in her #1 draft picks in the game of entrepreneurship – Underrepresented Founders. She’s Partner and Head, Investment Banking at Toren & Associates + Cofounder & CEO of NicheeStudio – a software development corporation that custom builds applications, machine learning systems, enterprise software and mobile experiences for venture-backed companies.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisellemelo/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GiselleBrazil

01:30PM to 01:35PM BREAK - BHANGRA

15 Mins Break for Bhangra

01:35PM to 02:30PM Career in AI & Tech Ethics. What & How?

This session will provide an overview of different careers in the AI & Tech ethics field. It will focus on the importance of multi-disciplinary backgrounds for both careers and advocacy, and provide tips on how to get involved. Kira comes from a math background, and Merve from political science. They will be answering questions about their experiences and insights for anyone interested in transitioning into a professional role, or becoming an advocate in AI & Tech ethics.

Speaker Bio:

Merve Hickok, Founder @ AIethicist.org & Lighthouse Career Consulting

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mervehickok/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HickokMerve

Kira Goldner, Postdoctoral Fellow @ Columbia University & Co-Founder @ MD4SG

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kira-goldner/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kiragoldner

02:35PM to 03:00PM Closing Remarks

Speaker Bio:

Mia Shah-Dand – https://twitter.com/MiaD

December 5

Summit Day 2

U.S. Pacific Standard Time

08:00AM to 8:15AM Day 1 - Event Open

Speaker Bio:

Mia Shah-Dand – https://twitter.com/MiaD

08:20AM to 8:35AM Opening Remarks by Sinit Zeru

Speaker Bio:

Sinit Zeru

08:40AM to 9:25AM Misinformation as a Window into Prejudice

Speaker Bio:

Zainab Akbar

09:30AM to 10:15AM - Algorithmic Justice : Cases Brazil

How to monitorate and fighting against bias algorithmic in Brazil

This session will highlight Nina’s work in the field of algorithmic racism in the Brazilian context. Nina will talk about her inspiring, extremely relevant and important work as an Anti-Racist Hacker, Researcher and dissemination of Computer science knowledge in Brazil and beyond.

Speaker Bio:

Nina Da Hora is a Computer Scientist under construction. Nina researchers biased algorithms. Creator of two initiatives: Computação da Hora and Podcast: Ogunhê, that presents Black scientists and their contributions. Always Researching Content, Writing, Disseminating Science and being an Anti-Racist Hacker. Nina is also a Science Columnist at MIT Technology Review Brazil.

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anacarolinadahora/
Twitter: @ninadhora

10:25AM to 10:55AM - Women Lead the Fight for Social Justice in a World Dominated by Big Tech

Women Lead the Fight for Social Justice in a World Dominated by Big Tech

Speaker Bio:

Safiya Umoja Noble : Ph.D., Associate Professor, Co-Director, UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2)

Twitter: @safiyanoble

Sarah T. Roberts : Ph.D., Associate Professor, Co-Director, UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2)

Twitter: @ubiquity75

11:00AM to 12:00PM - Making Art with Machine Learning

Machine Learning isn’t just for industry and research. Artists are using machine learning for creative purposes already– from paintings to poetry! In this hands-on workshop, I’ll highlight some of my favorite pieces of machine learning art, and show you how to make your own.

Speaker Bio:

Lia Coleman is an artist, AI researcher, and educator based in Puebla, Mexico. Her interests lie in AI for artwork, public art, and online education. She has taught at RISD, presented her AI research at the 2019 NeurIPS Workshop on Creativity, and exhibited in Vancouver, Seattle, and Boston. Lia is an alumni of the School for Poetic Computation (Fall 2019), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BSc Computer Science, 2017).

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liacole/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lialialiacole/

12:00PM to 12:10PM BREAK - YOGA

10 Mins Break for Yoga

12:10PM to 01:05PM - AI Ethics and Aesthetics through the Lens of Computer Generated Poetry

A discussion on our future relationship with Artificial Intelligence, and a presentation of computer-generated poetry. This is focused on the potential existence of sentient AI, and how computer-generated art affects us all.

Speaker Bio:

Ginger Yifan Chen is a Shanghai-born writer, filmmaker, and poet. Her works focus on science fiction, liminal spaces, and the Chinese-American experience. She’s a recent graduate of Chapman University, and currently resides in San Francisco.

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gingerychen
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gingerychen/

01:10PM to 02:05PM - Nonhuman Futures Workshop: Imagining Indigenous Ethics for AI

This workshop will include an artist talk, introduction to Kite’s contribution to the Indigenous Protocols and Artificial Intelligence Position Paper, and a discussion and work-shopping of the creation of new technologies through ethical protocols. Media Art Xploration supports the work of Suzanne Kite and her collaboration with the teaching artists at the Boys and Girls Club at the Rosebud Reservation on Indigenous approaches to AI. Their work will culminate in a presentation at MAX’s biennial festival – 2021: The Neuroverse.

Speaker Bio:

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. Currently, she is a 2019 Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar, a 2020 Tulsa Artist Fellow, and a 2020 Women at Sundance x Adobe Fellow.

Twitter: @kite_kite_

02:05PM to 02:15PM BREAK - HULA

10 Mins Break for Hula

02:15PM to 03:00PM - WAIE Program update - Announce 2021 list & Closing remarks

Speaker Bio:

Selection Committee

Event Close - Celebration Party

ALL

OUR BACKBONE

Event Organizing Team & Volunteers

Team member
Mia Shah-Dand
Mia Shah-Dand
Mia Shah-Dand
Team member
Buse Çetin
Buse Çetin
Buse Çetin
Team member
Yadira Sanchez
Yadira Sanchez
Yadira Sanchez
Team member
Merve Hickok
Merve Hickok
Merve Hickok
Team member
Chhavi Chauhan
Chhavi Chauhan
Chhavi Chauhan
Team member
Ayushi Tandon
Ayushi Tandon
Ayushi Tandon
Team member
Tristi Tanaka
Tristi Tanaka
Tristi Tanaka
Team member
Hessie Jones
Hessie Jones
Hessie Jones

TESTIMONIALS

Feedback from Past Events

“Can’t wait for next year. Wonderful conference!”

– Lauren A.

“This was an amazing and extremely rich day!”

– Ryann M.

“I really loved all of it! I wish I could have attended every session.”

– Attendee at WAIE2020

“There isn’t a session that I did not like. This is the first time I attended an online-conference and I was very impressed.”

– Jenn K.

“Fantastic speakers! Loved the tone and openness with which people shared their expertise.”

– Attendee at WAIE2020

“Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this. It was nice to really feel the sense of community within the event despite it being virtual!”

– Preetha S.

Sponsors

This is a spin-free, shill-free, sponsor-free unconference for our global WAIE (Women in AI Ethics™) community. It’s funded by Lighthouse3, ticket sales, and donations from our generous community.

Here are the free WAIE resources and programs we have created for our community:

Connect with us @lh3com or @Women_AI_Ethics

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