A BETTER TECH Workshops
We had 7 workshops at A BETTER TECH on October 14, 2021. You can read more about session leaders below.
The primary goal of this session was to crowdsource a comic book about Responsible AI, centered around the personal experiences of marginalized and underrepresented communities. Secondary goals are to gather feedback on our use of comic books for public education and to equip participants – through hands-on activities – with the skills to build upon and continue such creative explorations, themselves.
Julia Stoyanovich (Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Tandon School of Engineering, and the Center for Data Science). Falaah Arif Khan ( Data Science PhD student at NYU) working with Prof Julia Stoyanovich on the ‘fairness’ and ‘robustness’ of algorithmic systems.
How can we build a humane technology ecosystem that respects human minds, uplifts our democracies, and challenges entrenched inequity? In this session, participants learned about Foundations of Humane Technology, a free online course from The Center for Humane Technology designed for anyone building technology that engages with human attention.
David Jay, Center for Humane Technology
In this session participants learned which methods investigative journalists use to hold AI accountable. They also learned how to make investigative tech journalism interesting and entertaining to a non-tech audience. Participants left with a good understanding of investigative reporting methods that could help with any kind of research and discovery in other fields.
Hilke Schellmann, Assistant Professor of Journalism at New York University
Emma Cillekens, Award-Winning Journalist
This workshop was designed to introduce attendees to the foundational concepts of data equity and AI ethics. Following an orientation to these ideas, session leaders guided participants through a case study to apply what they’ve learned, using breakout rooms to foster discussion and encourage engagement. The case study promoted critical thinking and understanding of how bias impacts both data and algorithms. This session provided data practitioners with a tactical toolkit to directly address diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in our daily work, teams, organizations, and the data field more broadly.
Rachel Whaley, LA Tech4Good
Eva Sachar, LA Tech4Good
Social issues over the past year, ranging from COVID-19 to climate change, have highlighted the role of science and technology in local decision-making processes. However, scientists and engineers too often don’t engage at the local level, including in city, county, and state governments. Local government provides a high-impact pathway for individuals with STEM backgrounds to shape policy in their community, but it can be difficult to know where to start. This session featured case studies of scientists and engineers at a variety of career stages who have used their backgrounds to successfully engage on local issues in their communities. Participants were also be provided with the tools to take concrete next steps in developing their own local engagement plans.
Christopher Jackson + Arti Garg (Engineers & Scientists Acting Locally)
Social justice informatics mobilizes coalitions of people, information, and technology to work toward building a more just society. The goal of this workshop was to bring together researchers, practitioners, and students with an interest in leveraging data, information, and technology to achieve social and restorative justice. The workshop We will also brainstormed and built community around questions such as: What is Social Justice Informatics, and how can it contribute to Public Interest Technology? How can work in Social Justice Informatics transfer power to communities most impacted by systemic inequities in information technology?
Ken Fleischmann( The University of Texas at Austin), Amanda Masino (Huston-Tillotson University), Angela Smith (The University of Texas at Austin)