Incoming White House science and technology leader Dr. Alondra Nelson addressed the relationship between AI development an inclusion.
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,” said Dr. Alondra Nelson today as part of the introduction of the Biden administration 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. At its core, Nelson said in a televised ceremony, science is a social phenomenon, a reflection of people, their relationships, and institutions. So it really matters who’s in the room when new technology like AI is developed, she said, which is why for much of her career she’s sought to understand the points of view of people who are not typically in the room when emerging technology is developed. Connections between our scientific and social worlds have never been as stark as they are today, she said, and there’s 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, adding that it mat. “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.
