Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have emerged as increasingly significant areas of inquiry and debate in science, technology, and society. From social media, wearable tech, and fintech, to autonomous weapon systems, law enforcement, and medical diagnosis, AI and ML are being integrated within many services and products across a range of industries. At the same time, like other powerful tech (e.g. CRISPR, nuclear power), AI poses a variety of ethical and political questions about how it can and should be designed, developed, deployed, and monitored. Covering AI’s siloed past to its global present, this talk will highlight the human-centered approach needed to ensure humanity’s viable future.
Monica Lopez-Gonzalez is a serial entrepreneur and the co-founder and chief executive officer of Cognitive Insights for Artificial Intelligence. Widely known for her human-centered and industry-agnostic approaches to tech and business, Lopez-Gonzalez is an expert in the science, ethics, and governance of AI and is on the front line of the AI-enabled autonomous systems, healthcare/biotechnology, cybersecurity, and education industries. A 21st-century polymath, Lopez-Gonzalez is a JHU faculty member in WSE’s Department of Computer Science with several additional appointments. Her interdisciplinary courses sit at the intersection of artificial intelligence, cognitive neuroscience, design, ethics, entrepreneurship, and public policy. A multilingual global public speaker, Lopez-Gonzalez holds BAs in psychology and French, an MA and PhD in cognitive science, and a graduate certificate in international studies, all from Johns Hopkins University. She most recently earned a certificate in AI policy from the Center for AI and Digital Policy, Washington, D.C., and a certificate from the Venture Capital University Independent Director Initiative, University of California Berkeley, School of Law.