Alix is a researcher in philosophy of technology and the Director of Curated and Research Content at Singularity. She investigates the societal and cultural impact of exponential technologies. Her current research centers around two large-scale projects. The first focus is on the effects of automated decision-making algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, and algorithmic bias. She works to create understanding about how decisions made in the design process can lead to unwanted and biased outcomes and to empower leaders to build AI that is equitable, fair, and just. The second project comprises an analysis of the digitalization of information, its effects on decision-making, and on ethics. The focus here is to reposition decision-makers vis-à-vis the way they inform themselves, to investigate and challenge computational paradigms, and to envision an approach to ethics that befits 21st-century dilemmas.

In this hands-on workshop participants will learn how algorithmic bias emerges from the design of automated decision-making systems. They will train and design their own algorithms in a manner that is comparable to the implementation of technologies across industries. Once designed, the algorithms will run and be deployed on the participants so that they experience the effects of inclusion and exclusion first-hand. The primary learning outcome is to increase the understanding of algorithmic bias and how even with the best intentions, cultural prejudices and assumptions are programmed into data-driven technologies.

Participants will learn to identify different kinds of algorithmic biases; pinpoint where biases enter their designs; and assess an automated decision-making system on its risk for perpetuating biases. Because participants build the algorithms themselves, they will also learn how automated decision-making algorithms and Machine Learning systems are designed, implemented, and used.