<A+ Global Directory> Global Experts lifting gender & racial bias from AI

In order to place the urgent now of COVID-19 response work firmly in the context of the equally urgent need to create new and better systems and new paradigms, and because now is the time to connect the work that feminist researchers and thinkers envision for an inclusive and thriving future the <A+> Alliance co-led by Ciudadanía Inteligente and Women@TheTable,

with Gender at Work supported by the International Development Research Centre IDRC are launching the <A+ Global Directory>      AI for Democracy & Women’s Rights.

The <A+ Global Directory> highlights the multi-disciplinary global and diverse work going on in the Global South, North, East and West and the leaders tackling gender and/or racial bias through AI research and action in groundbreaking ways.

The use of Artificial Intelligence and Automated Decision-Making Systems will only accelerate moving forward, therefore there is great need to think about the future we want to see - both in driving the response to the COVID-19 crisis, and in creating an agenda for the future. In this challenging moment the <A+> Alliance, and Gender at Work, supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) launched f<A+i>r, a Feminist AI Research Network to contemplate new systems and new structures for the times ahead.

Renata Ávila, Co-founder of the A+ Alliance, Executive Director of Ciudadanía Inteligente, emphasized that “This is a small step for our network in our efforts to shape the tech future we want. The <A+ Global Directory> is a tool for journalists, policymakers and public authorities informing, designing and deciding on key digital infrastructures. Here they can find global experts working on the solutions for a free, fair and feminist AI future, and engage with the impressive network of experts the Directory collects.”

Caitlin Kraft-Buchman, Co-founder of the A+ Alliance, and CEO of Women at the Table, explains “AI should serve democracy and women’s rights. We believe gender equality is a stealth app for democracy. The <A+ Global Directory> is a first step in sharing the global breadth and depth of creativity in AI thinking, research and design from the Global South, North, East and West. There really is an extraordinary range of work going on everywhere.”

The pilot phase of this global invitation only f<A+i>r network gathered a cohort of eminent social scientists, economists, and activists, side by side with data, machine learning and computer scientists to discuss how to fix the system and leverage AI for democracy and women’s rights. Here are some of the leaders researching new systems approaches from around the world, ready to change the world.

(nb the <A+ Global Directory> delivers in randomized order each time a browser is refreshed, and can be searched by region, and/or research or work area.)

• Claudio Agosti, Director, Tracking Exposed, Rome

• Carolina Aguerre, Adjunct Professor, Researcher, Center for Technology and Society (CETYS), Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires

• Sareeta Amrute, Director of Research, Principle Researcher, Data & Society Research Institute; Associate Professor, University of Washington

• Renata Avila, Race and Technology Fellow, Stanford University; Executive Director, Fundación Ciudadanía Inteligente, Santiago

• Heather Barr, Acting Co-Director, Women's Rights Division, Human Rights Watch, Islamabad

• Ana Brandusescu, McConnell Foundation 2019-2020 Professor of Practice, CRIEM, McGill University

• Jenny Brennan, Researcher, Ada Lovelace Institute, London

• Francesca Bria, Hon. Professor, Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, UCL; Senior Adviser, Digital Cities and Digital Rights, UN-Habitat; President, Italian National Innovation Fund, Rome

• Ania Calderon, Executive Director, Open Data Charter, Mexico City

• Elisa Celis, Co-founder, Yale Computation and Society Initiative; Assistant Professor, Statistics & Data Science, Yale University

• Chenai Chair, 2019 Mozilla Tech Policy Fellow; Gender & Digital Research Manager, World Wide Web Foundation, Cape Town

• Nandini Chami, Deputy Director, IT for Change, Bangalore

• Tara Patricia Cookson, Director, Ladysmith, Canada

• Yasodara Cordova, Fellow for Citizen Engagement, World Bank, Washington DC

• Catherine D’Ignazio, Assistant Professor of Urban Science & Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Silvana Fumega, Research & Policy Director, Latin American Initiative for Open Data, Buenos Aires

• Helani Galpaya, Chief Executive Officer, LIRNEasia, Colombo

• Daniel Gatica-Perez, Head of Social Computing, Idiap; Professor, School of Engineering, College of Humanities; Director, Digital Humanities Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

• Alison Gillwald, Executive Director, Research ICT Africa; Adjunct Professor, University of Cape Town

• Anita Gurumurthy, Executive Director, IT for Change, Bangalore

• Elonnai Hickok, Chief Operating Officer, Centre for Internet and Society, New Delhi

• Tigist Hussen, Project Coordinator, Research Lead, Association for Progressive Communication, Cape Town

• Neema Iyer, Founder, Pollicy, Kampala

• Mmaki Jantjies, Associate Professor in Information Systems, University of the Western Cape

• Vladan Joler, Director, Share Foundation; Professor, New Media, University of Novi Sad

• Caitlin Kraft-Buchman, Co-Founder, <A+> Alliance; CEO / Founder, Women at the Table, Geneva

• Susan Levy, Assistant Professor of Information and Communication, University College Dublin

• Judith Mariscal, Founding Executive Director, Centro Latam Digital, Mexico City

• Muchiri Nyaggah, Executive Director, Local Development Research Institute, Nairobi

• Nuria Oliver, Chief Data Scientist, Data-Pop Alliance; Chief Scientific Advisor, Vodafone Institute, Madrid

• Wuraola Oyewusi, Research & Innovation, Data Science Nigeria, Lagos

• Irene Poetranto, Senior Researcher, Citizen Lab, University of Toronto

• Nagla Rizk, Founding Director, Access to Knowledge for Development Center; Professor of Economics, American University in Cairo

• Pamela Robinson, Professor, Director, School of Urban and Regional Planning, Ryerson University

• Isaac Rutenberg, Director, Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law, Nairobi

• Nanjira Sambuli, Most Recently, Senior Policy Manager, World Wide Web Foundation, Nairobi

• Araba Sey, Principal Researcher, Research ICT Africa, Cape Town

• Marwa Sharafeldin, Senior Expert, Capacity Building, Outreach & MENA region, Musawah, Cairo

• Kathleen Siminyu, Regional Network Coordinator, Artificial Intelligence for Development - Africa, Nairobi

• Ambika Tandon, Senior Programme Officer, Centre for Internet and Society, New Delhi

• Mariana Valente, Director, Interlab, São Paulo

• Christiaan van Veen, Director, Digital Welfare State & Human Rights Project, New York University

• Joana Varon, Tech and Human Rights Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School; Executive Directress, Coding Rights, Rio de Janeiro

• Jamila Venturini, Regional Coordinator, Derechos Digitales, São Paulo

• Nisheeth Vishnoi, Co-founder, Yale Computation and Society Initiative; Professor, Computer Science, Yale University

Contact:

US, Canada, LAC: Catalina Balla

mail: catalina@ciudadaniai.org

twitter: @Cataballa / @ciudadania_i

Europe, Africa, Asia: Aminata Buganzi Kinana

mail: aminata@WomenAtTheTable.net

twitter: @WomenAtTheTable