Incoming White House science and technology leader on AI, diversity, and society – VentureBeat

Technologies like artificial intelligence and human genome editing reveal and reflect even more about the complex and sometimes dangerous social architecture that lies beneath the scientific progress that we pursue, Dr. Alondra Nelson said today at a televised ceremony introducing President-elect Joe Bidens science team. On Friday, the Biden transition team appointed Nelson to the position of OSTP deputy director for science and society. Biden will be sworn in Wednesday to officially become the 46th president of the United States.

Nelson said in the ceremony that science is a social phenomenon and a reflection of people, their relationships, and their institutions. This means it really matters whos in the room when new technology like AI is developed, she said. This is also why for much of her career she has sought to understand the perspectives of people who are not typically included in the development of emerging technology. Connections between our scientific and social worlds have never been as urgent as they are today, she said, and theres never been a more important moment to situate scientific development in ethical values like equality, accountability, justice, and trustworthiness.

When we provide inputs to the algorithm; when we program the device; when we design, test, and research; we are making human choices, choices that bring our social world to bear in a new and powerful way, she said. As a Black woman researcher, I am keenly aware of those who are missing from these rooms. I believe we have a responsibility to work together to make sure that our science and technology reflects us, and when it does it reflects all of us, that it reflects who we truly are together. This too is a breakthrough. This too is an innovation that advances our lives.

Nelsons comments allude to trends of pervasive algorithmic bias and a well-documented lack of diversity among teams deploying artificial intelligence. Those trends appear to have converged when Google fired AI ethics co-lead Timnit Gebru last month. Algorithmic bias has been shown to disproportionately and negatively impact the lives of Black people in a number of ways, including use of facial recognition leading to false arrests, adverse health outcomes for millions, and unfair lending practices. A study published last month found that diversity on teams developing and deploying artificial intelligence is a key to reducing algorithmic bias.

Dr. Eric Lander will be nominated to serve as director of the OSTP and presidential science advisor. In remarks today, he called Americas greatest asset its unrivaled diversity and spoke of science and tech policy that creates new industries and jobs but also ensures benefits of progress are shared broadly among all Americans.

Scientific progress is about someone seeing something that no ones ever seen before because they bring a different lens, different experiences, different questions, different passions. No one can top America in that regard, but we have to ensure that everyone not only has a seat at the table, but a place at the lab bench, he said.

Biden also spoke at the ceremony, referring to the team he has assembled as one that will help restore Americas hope in the frontier of science while tackling advances in health care and challenges like climate change.

We have the most diverse population in the world thats in a democracy, and theres so much we can do. I cant tell you how excited weve been about doing this. We saved it for last. I know its not naming Department of Defense or attorney general, but I tell you what: You have more impact on what our children are going to face and our grandchildren are going to have opportunities to do than anyone, he said.

As part of todays announcement, Biden said the presidential science advisor will be a cabinet-level position for the first time in U.S. history. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, whose mother worked as a scientist at UC Berkeley, also spoke. She concluded her remarks with an endorsement of funding for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and an acknowledgment of Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, a Black female scientist whose contributions helped create the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

The Biden-Harris campaign platform has also pledged to address some forms of algorithmic bias. While the Trump administration signed a few international agreements supporting trustworthy AI, the current presidents harsh immigration policy and bigoted rhetoric undercut any chance of leadership when it comes to addressing the ways algorithmic bias leads to discrimination or civil rights violations.

Earlier this week, members of the Trump administration introduced the AI Initiatives Office to guide a national AI strategy following the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The AI Initiatives Office might be one of the only federal offices to depict a neural network and eagle in its seal.

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Incoming White House science and technology leader on AI, diversity, and society - VentureBeat