The Tech Humanist Show

Summary

The Tech Humanist Show explores how data and technology shape the human experience. It's recorded live each week in a live-streamed video program before it's made available in audio format. Hosted by Kate O’Neill.

About this episode's guest:

Calli Schroeder is an attorney in privacy/data security, as well as a privacy advocate and self-described "die-hard nerd." Her brief stint as a wedding singer led her to wonder if she had violated copyright law, an interest which transitioned to tech law broadly and privacy law specifically. While in law school, Schroeder interned for FTC Commissioner Julie Brill, published an article on consent issues and IRBs in the Colorado Technology Law Journal, among other accomplishments distinctions. She developed a focus on consumer protection issues, surveillance, data breaches, and freaking people out at parties.

Among the certifications she holds are privacy designations for the U.S., Europe, and Canada.

She tweets as @Iwillleavenow.

This episode streamed live on Thursday, July 30, 2020.

Episode highlights:

3:24 how did Calli's curiosity in copyright law lead to a career in tech and data privacy law?

8:48 philosophy and theology - how privacy affects the nature of society and humanity

19:30 Live Audience Question: "Should social media platforms offer data portability to move valuable data across different platforms"?

33:00 how we can expect to see regulations roll out in the U.S.

34:37 What makes you optimistic?

37:45 Live Audience Question: EU Court of Justice opinion (see: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-5... for context) & how she's advising clients to go forward

39:49 HARK! A DOG BARKS!

40:07 Pre-Show Audience Question: "I'd love to hear more about what meaningful consent looks like with data privacy. I wonder if there's anything we can borrow anything from sex ed about consent being affirmative, revocable, or centering care and agency?"

50:11 privacy and advocacy for the best futures possible

Summary

The Tech Humanist Show explores how data and technology shape the human experience. It's recorded live each week in a live-streamed video program before it's made available in audio format. Hosted by Kate O’Neill.

About this episode's guest:

Calli Schroeder is an attorney in privacy/data security, as well as a privacy advocate and self-described "die-hard nerd." Her brief stint as a wedding singer led her to wonder if she had violated copyright law, an interest which transitioned to tech law broadly and privacy law specifically. While in law school, Schroeder interned for FTC Commissioner Julie Brill, published an article on consent issues and IRBs in the Colorado Technology Law Journal, among other accomplishments distinctions. She developed a focus on consumer protection issues, surveillance, data breaches, and freaking people out at parties.

Among the certifications she holds are privacy designations for the U.S., Europe, and Canada.

She tweets as @Iwillleavenow.

This episode streamed live on Thursday, July 30, 2020.

Episode highlights:

3:24 how did Calli's curiosity in copyright law lead to a career in tech and data privacy law?

8:48 philosophy and theology - how privacy affects the nature of society and humanity

19:30 Live Audience Question: "Should social media platforms offer data portability to move valuable data across different platforms"?

33:00 how we can expect to see regulations roll out in the U.S.

34:37 What makes you optimistic?

37:45 Live Audience Question: EU Court of Justice opinion (see: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-5... for context) & how she's advising clients to go forward

39:49 HARK! A DOG BARKS!

40:07 Pre-Show Audience Question: "I'd love to hear more about what meaningful consent looks like with data privacy. I wonder if there's anything we can borrow anything from sex ed about consent being affirmative, revocable, or centering care and agency?"

50:11 privacy and advocacy for the best futures possible

Summary

The Tech Humanist Show explores how data and technology shape the human experience. It's recorded live each week in a live-streamed video program before it's made available in audio format. Hosted by Kate O’Neill.

About this episode's guest:

Rumman Chowdhury’s passion lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence and humanity. She holds degrees in quantitative social science and has been a practicing data scientist and AI developer since 2013. She is currently the Global Lead for Responsible AI at Accenture Applied Intelligence, where she works with C-suite clients to create cutting-edge technical solutions for ethical, explainable and transparent AI.

She tweets as @ruchowdh.

This episode streamed live on Thursday, July 23, 2020.

Episode highlights:

(Part 1)

3:17 how Rumman's background in political science shapes her thinking in AI

3:28 "quantitative social science is math with context"

3:58 "often when we talk about technologies like artificial intelligence… we've started to talk about the technology as if it supersedes the human"

4:11 Rumman mentions her article "The pitfalls of a ‘retrofit human’ in AI systems": https://venturebeat.com/2019/11/11/the-pitfalls-of-a-retrofit-human-in-ai-systems/

4:56 What is the core human concept that shapes your work?

5:25 "I recognize and want a world in which people make decisions that I disagree with, but they are making those decisions fully informed and fully capable."

5:49 A DOG ALMOST APPEARS!

7:18 transparency and explainability in Responsible AI

8:17 on the cake trend: "reality is already turned upside on its head — I want to be able to trust that the shoe is a shoe and not really a cake" :)

9:04 on the critiques of Responsible AI, "cancel culture," and anthropomorphizing machines

11:11 Responsible AI is not about having politically correct answers; her role leading Responsible AI is part of core business functions

12:00 Responsible AI is about serving the customers, the people; credit lending discrimination example

12:40 need for discussion that's bigger than profitability and efficiency; humanity and human flourishing

13:27 "human flourishing — creating something with positive impact — is not at odds with good business"

15:21 "I think sometimes people can get overly focused on value as revenue generation; value comes from many, many different things"

17:05 a political science view on human agency relative to machine outcomes

19:22 AI governance

20:34 "constructive dissent"

21:13 the "human in the loop" problem

25:14 algorithmic bias

29:20 "building products with the future in mind"

29:44 are there applications of AI that fill you with hope for the good they could potentially do?

(Part 2)

0:45 how can we promote humanity and human flourishing with AI and emerging technologies?

1:16 what can businesses do to enable Responsible AI

1:22 "I have a paper out… where we interview people who work in Responsible AI and Ethical AI… on what companies can do" (see: https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.12358)

6:22 what can the average human being do

8:40 where can people find you?

on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruchowdh

on the web: http://www.rummanchowdhury.com/

Summary

The Tech Humanist Show explores how data and technology shape the human experience. It's recorded live each week in a live-streamed video program before it's made available in audio format. Hosted by Kate O’Neill.

About this episode's guest:

Rumman Chowdhury’s passion lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence and humanity. She holds degrees in quantitative social science and has been a practicing data scientist and AI developer since 2013. She is currently the Global Lead for Responsible AI at Accenture Applied Intelligence, where she works with C-suite clients to create cutting-edge technical solutions for ethical, explainable and transparent AI.

She tweets as @ruchowdh.

This episode streamed live on Thursday, July 23, 2020.

Episode highlights:

(Part 1)

3:17 how Rumman's background in political science shapes her thinking in AI

3:28 "quantitative social science is math with context"

3:58 "often when we talk about technologies like artificial intelligence… we've started to talk about the technology as if it supersedes the human"

4:11 Rumman mentions her article "The pitfalls of a ‘retrofit human’ in AI systems": https://venturebeat.com/2019/11/11/the-pitfalls-of-a-retrofit-human-in-ai-systems/

4:56 What is the core human concept that shapes your work?

5:25 "I recognize and want a world in which people make decisions that I disagree with, but they are making those decisions fully informed and fully capable."

5:49 A DOG ALMOST APPEARS!

7:18 transparency and explainability in Responsible AI

8:17 on the cake trend: "reality is already turned upside on its head — I want to be able to trust that the shoe is a shoe and not really a cake" :)

9:04 on the critiques of Responsible AI, "cancel culture," and anthropomorphizing machines

11:11 Responsible AI is not about having politically correct answers; her role leading Responsible AI is part of core business functions

12:00 Responsible AI is about serving the customers, the people; credit lending discrimination example

12:40 need for discussion that's bigger than profitability and efficiency; humanity and human flourishing

13:27 "human flourishing — creating something with positive impact — is not at odds with good business"

15:21 "I think sometimes people can get overly focused on value as revenue generation; value comes from many, many different things"

17:05 a political science view on human agency relative to machine outcomes

19:22 AI governance

20:34 "constructive dissent"

21:13 the "human in the loop" problem

25:14 algorithmic bias

29:20 "building products with the future in mind"

29:44 are there applications of AI that fill you with hope for the good they could potentially do?

(Part 2)

0:45 how can we promote humanity and human flourishing with AI and emerging technologies?

1:16 what can businesses do to enable Responsible AI

1:22 "I have a paper out… where we interview people who work in Responsible AI and Ethical AI… on what companies can do" (see: https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.12358)

6:22 what can the average human being do

8:40 where can people find you?

on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruchowdh

on the web: http://www.rummanchowdhury.com/

The Tech Humanist Show explores how data and technology shape the human experience. It's recorded live each week in a live-streamed video program before it's made available in audio format. Hosted by Kate O’Neill.

About this episode's guest:

Dr. Chris Gilliard is a writer, professor, and speaker. His scholarship concentrates on digital privacy, and the intersections of race, class, and technology. He is an advocate for critical and equity-focused approaches to tech in education. His work has been featured in The Chronicle of Higher Ed, EDUCAUSE Review, Fast Company, Vice, and Real Life Magazine.

He tweets as @hypervisible.

This episode streamed live on Thursday, July 16, 2020.

Episode highlights:

9:35 Chris on his recent article about Facebook profiting from hate ("Facebook Cannot Separate Itself From the Hate It Spreads": https://onezero.medium.com/facebook-cannot-separate-itself-from-the-hate-it-spreads-967ec9b8793c)

16:51 on regulations

17:58 "the notion that people should be able to throw something out into the wild, see what damage it does, and then maybe clean up some of it afterward is pretty disturbing and faulty"

19:41 "there have been many people who for years have been saying that facial recognition should either not exist or should be heavily regulated and for years many of those people have been told 'the horse is already out of the barn' — that basically that a thing can't be banned once it's been invented… which is patently false."

25:21 "many folks are actively engaged in remaking society right now"

30:04 on digital redlining

The Tech Humanist Show explores how data and technology shape the human experience. It's recorded live each week in a live-streamed video program before it's made available in audio format. Hosted by Kate O’Neill.

About this episode's guest:

Dr. Chris Gilliard is a writer, professor, and speaker. His scholarship concentrates on digital privacy, and the intersections of race, class, and technology. He is an advocate for critical and equity-focused approaches to tech in education. His work has been featured in The Chronicle of Higher Ed, EDUCAUSE Review, Fast Company, Vice, and Real Life Magazine.

He tweets as @hypervisible.

This episode streamed live on Thursday, July 16, 2020.

Episode highlights:

9:35 Chris on his recent article about Facebook profiting from hate ("Facebook Cannot Separate Itself From the Hate It Spreads": https://onezero.medium.com/facebook-cannot-separate-itself-from-the-hate-it-spreads-967ec9b8793c)

16:51 on regulations

17:58 "the notion that people should be able to throw something out into the wild, see what damage it does, and then maybe clean up some of it afterward is pretty disturbing and faulty"

19:41 "there have been many people who for years have been saying that facial recognition should either not exist or should be heavily regulated and for years many of those people have been told 'the horse is already out of the barn' — that basically that a thing can't be banned once it's been invented… which is patently false."

25:21 "many folks are actively engaged in remaking society right now"

30:04 on digital redlining