“Our society remains deeply unequal. AI can exacerbate this inequality…but, of course, there is also the other more optimistic counterpoint that AI gives us superpowers that have the ability to also reduce inequality”  – Emma Pierson, Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research and incoming Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Cornell Tech.

During a live, virtual event on June 22, Associate Professor of Sociology Christel Kesler hosted Emma Pierson, senior researcher at Microsoft Research and an incoming assistant professor of computer science at Cornell Tech., to discuss groundbreaking work toward a critical effort—using data science and machine learning to uncover and combat racial and gender disparities in policing and healthcare. 

Pierson has been recognized with a Rhodes Scholarship and Hertz Fellowship, and she has been named a Rising Star in EECS and in Forbes “30 Under 30 in Science”. She has written for The New York Times, FiveThirtyEight, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Wired, and various other publications.

Colby is committed to the education of humane, thoughtful, and engaged persons prepared to respond to the challenges of an increasingly diverse and global society and to the issues of justice that arise therein. Pierson’s work is exemplary of not only the power of AI but also the significant role that social justice can play in the curriculum of the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence to drive scholarship and positive change.