Ethical AI: Problems with Visual & Voice Recognition Software

Facial-recognition technology is already being used for applications ranging from unlocking phones to identifying potential criminals. Despite advances, it has still come under fire for racial bias: many algorithms that successfully identify white faces still fail to properly do so for people of color.

Federal researchers have found widespread evidence of racial bias in nearly 200 facial recognition algorithms in an extensive government study, highlighting the technology's shortcomings and potential for misuse.

Join the IBM Austin Black Business Resource Group for a technical talk and panel discussion on voice and visual recognition software. We will explore issues surrounding ethical AI and the use of these technologies, and learn how tech companies are attempting to attack these issues head-on in order to create AI that works for everyone.

This IBM Developer event is open to everyone, and we encourage everyone to join the conversation. When we all have empathy for others, we can build amazing things that benefit everyone.

Agenda :
6:00pm Check-In, Food & Networking
6:30pm Introductions
6:45pm Technical Talk
7:00pm Panel Discussion
7:45pm Q&A

The event will take place in the Devvie space.

EVENT PARKING INFO : www.capitalfactory.com/parking

***Ethical AI Presenter***

Mary Haskett
CEO & Co-Founder @ Blink Identity

Mary Haskett is the CEO and co-founder of Blink Identity, a venture backed startup developing a unique privacy-preserving face recognition product that can identify people at a full walking speed and in any lighting conditions.

***Panel Speakers***

Dr. Will Scott
Software Architect, Accessibility Technology & Innovation @ IBM Research

Dr. Will Scott is a Software Architect, artificial intelligence subject matter expert, and certified IBM Watson Application Developer in IBM Design, working with the Accessibility Technology & Innovation team. Will has led delivery of award-winning A.I. technologies that have been recognized by Forbes, MIT Technology Review, and the Federal Communications Commission.

Mike Hollinger
Chief Architect, Machine Vision @ IBM Cognitive Systems

Mike Hollinger is Chief Architect for Machine Vision in IBM Cognitive Systems, and is responsible for creating software that leverages computer vision. Mike previously spent two years in Taipei, Taiwan as Lead Software Architect for Power Systems Firmware Development and is also an IBM Master Inventor and Senior Technical Staff Member.

Sterling Smith
Founder & Head of Product @ Sandbox Commerce

Sterling Smith is a founding member at two startups based in Austin, TX; LaunchPartner.co and SandBox Commerce. He recently served as Google’s, Code 2040 Entrepreneur in Residence. Sterling has been featured in notable publications such as Techcrunch, Gimlet Media, CNN, Practical Ecommerce, AmericanInno and The Pitch Podcast.

Fatma Tarlaci, Ph.D.
Data Science Fellow @ Quansight

Fatma Tarlaci is a data science fellow at Quansight. She specializes in Natural Language Processing and its applications in data science. Prior to her current role, she was a Scholar at OpenAI where she conducted research on Deep Learning.

Osagie Aisueni
Technical Sourcer @ Dropbox

Osagie Aisueni is Technical Software Engineering Sourcer at Dropbox, where his focus is around engaging and hiring software engineers across all platforms. Having come from Google prior to working at Dropbox, Osagie's has been able to get a gauge on where the software engineering market is headed in the near future.

Chinedu Njoku
Cloud Sales and Customer Growth @ Google

Born in The Bronx, NY and raised in New Jersey, Chinedu started his career at Google in 2017 as a digital consultant on the Google Ads team. After success in the ad business he transitioned to Google Cloud, where he works as a Corporate Account Executive covering Los Angeles.

Kim Williams
Technical Recruiter @ Indeed

***Moderator***

Jenna Ritten
IBM Cloud Developer Advocate