On March 26, 2024 from 2:30 to 3:30pm in the Social Room of the Healey Family Student Center, McCourt School of Public Policy’s the Massive Data Institute and the Tech & Public Policy program are hosting the second in a series of panels exploring the question of “what does AI mean for us in everyday life?”
AI & Me: Equity and Representation
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
2:30-3:30pm
Social Room of the Healey Family Student Center (additional information on directions below)
The panel discussion will be followed by a reception with the panelists.
Panel Abstract: Join a conversation with a panel of experts in technology, policy, and law to explore AI in daily life from the distinctive lens of ethics and representation. AI-based tools are embedded with the biases of their creators and/or the datasets that they are trained on, making their outputs and decisions susceptible to prejudice, discrimination and inaccuracies. It’s not always possible to understand or explain how an AI arrived at a conclusion or decision, making it more challenging to design systems for fairness and accountability.
This panel will examine how AI algorithms have the potential to reproduce, reinforce and exacerbate existing biases and what that means for individuals in daily life. The use of AI in hiring decisions, in healthcare, in the criminal justice system, and in access to capital are a few areas where the role of equity and representation in AI-enabled products and services will have an enormous impact.
Following the panel there will be reception with the panelists.
This event is hosted in partnership with the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Massive Data Institute and the Tech & Public Policy program.
This series is open to the public. RSVP below.
Meet the panelists
Moderator: NaLette M. Brodnax, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Data Science, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University
NaLette Brodnax (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University and a William T Grant Scholar (Class of 2028). She received a joint Ph.D. in Public Policy and Political Science from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, where she specialized in quantitative research methods. Her research interests include education policy, policy diffusion, and computational social science. She has also worked as a data scientist both as a freelance consultant and for organizations such as the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University and Eli Lily Corporation.
Victoria Houed, Director of AI Policy and Strategy, U.S. Department of Commerce
Victoria Houed (she/her) is an engineer turned policy entrepreneur who has dedicated her career to improving the tech policy ecosystem and government modernization. She is currently the director of AI policy and strategy at the U.S. Department of Commerce and senior advisor at the POPVOX Foundation. She was previously a manager at Schmidt Futures where she funded key science and technology policy initiatives and educated relevant stakeholders on how to best advocate for their policy ideas in the legislative and executive branches. Before joining Schmidt Futures, Houed worked as a TechCongress congressional innovation fellow for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi where she supported Pelosi during the COVID crisis on all things technology (including broadband, disinformation, antitrust and more). Houed is participating in her personal capacity.
Amen Ra Mashariki, Ph.D., Director of AI and Data Strategies, Bezos Earth Fund
Amen Ra Mashariki (he/him) is the Director of AI and Data Strategies at the Bezos Earth Fund, where he works to identify strategies and solutions that will help climate and nature organizations use AI to solve complex issues. Dr. Mashariki was previously a Senior Principal Scientist at NVIDIA where he led their global Urban AI initiatives. He was also previously the Global Director of the AI Lab at the World Resources Institute. He has also served as Head of Machine Learning at Urbint, Research Faculty at Johns Hopkins, Adjunct Faculty at NYU’s Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP), and Fellow at the Harvard Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.
Dr. Mashariki served as the first Chief Analytics Officer for the City of New York under the de Blasio administration and the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics. He was appointed to be a White House Fellow and the Chief Technology Officer for the Office of Personnel Management of the United States in the Obama Administration. Amen earned a Doctorate in Engineering from Morgan State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Howard and Lincoln University, respectively.
Elissa M. Redmiles, Ph.D., Clare Luce Boothe Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, and Faculty Affiliate at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society
Elissa M. Redmiles (she/her) is the Clare Luce Boothe Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University and a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. She was previously a Faculty Member at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems and has additionally served as a consultant and researcher at multiple institutions, including Microsoft Research, Facebook, the World Bank, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and the Partnership on AI.
Dr. Redmiles uses computational, economic, and social science methods to understand users’ security, privacy, and online safety-related decision-making processes. Her research has been recognized with multiple paper awards and other recognitions from USENIX Security, ACM CCS, ACM CHI, ACM CSCW, and ACM EAAMO. Dr. Redmiles has been invited to present her work at the White House and has had research featured in popular press publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, Rolling Stone, Wired, and Forbes.
Event Information
Registration: https://bit.ly/RSVPMar262024Equity (new window)
Accommodations: In the RSVP form, please indicate any accommodations https://bit.ly/RSVPMar262024Equity (new window). This event is wheelchair accessible. Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made by March 15, 2024 to Khai Booker at mdiresearch@georgetown.edu (new window). A good faith effort will be made to fulfill requests made after March 15, 2024.
Transportation: Georgetown University is accessible for faculty, staff, students and visitors through many convenient transportation options, including our free university shuttle, public transportation, bicycling, carsharing and other means. Learn more about transportation options here. (new window)
See here (new window) (Interactive map) or here (new window) (PDF) for a Georgetown University campus map.
Taxi / Ridesharing: The recommended drop-off location is at the front gates of campus. Please inform your driver that your destination is Georgetown University or use the address 3700 O St. NW, Washington, DC 20057. Additional information on taxi / ride sharing is available here. (new window)
Visitor Parking: If you decide to drive to campus, please note there is construction happening on campus on the north side of campus. Visitor parking is available at Southwest Garage (Use 3611 Canal Road as the address for directions using GPS). Additional information on visitor parking is available here (new window).
AI & Me Series Hosts
About the Massive Data Institute (MDI): At Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy, the Massive Data Institute (MDI) is an interdisciplinary research institute that connects experts across computer science, data science, public health, public policy, and social science to tackle societal scale issues and impact public policy in ways that improves people’s lives through responsible evidence-based research. For more information on MDI, please visit https://mdi.georgetown.edu/
About the Tech & Public Policy program: The Tech & Public Policy program at the McCourt School of Public Policy works to shape technology’s promise for a better world. Tech & Public Policy catalyzes cross-disciplinary research, supports emerging leaders, and convenes experts and policymakers to address the challenges and opportunities posed by our ever-evolving digital society. Learn more: https://mccourt.georgetown.edu/tech-and-public-policy/
For more information about the AI & Me Series, please visit: https://mdi.georgetown.edu/events/aiandme-spring2024/
Questions? Please contact mdiresearch@georgetown.edu (new window).