University of Pennsylvania
The algorithms that power artificial intelligence (AI) tools are built on a foundation of human judgement calls – but humans sometimes make mistakes. How can organizations confidently take advantage of the benefits associated with modern technology while avoiding negative impacts on surrounding communities?“Human experts and tech experts need to work together,” says Desmond Upton Patton, the University of Pennsylvania’s Brian and Randi Schwartz University Professor (the highest professorship at Penn) and Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor who also has joint appointments in the School of Social Policy & Practice, the Annenberg School for Communication, and in the department of psychiatry in the Perelman School of Medicine.“Existing data science techniques cannot accurately understand key cultural nuances in language amongst predominantly communities of color. Our methodologies – which center and privilege culture, context and inclusion in machine learning and computer vision analysis – create non-biased and culturally nuanced algorithms to give tech companies a holistic perspective on various business and social issues. The companies that adopt these proactive measures are then able to ensure they are not unintentionally propagating bias.”At the SAFELab, where Patton is the founding director, social workers and local residents join Patton and his team to add context to social media messages, which helps programmers build algorithms that interpret messages correctly. Community-based partnerships between social workers and technology developers reframe innovation to incorporate a fuller spectrum of humanity, creating a more useful, equitable and joyful environment. By nurturing these relationships, says Patton, who has been recognized as a 2022 Top 50 in Digital Health (Equity Advocates) honoree, organizations see their time and financial investments return as their solutions are adopted for best understanding customer needs. Tapping a diverse group to incorporate their expertise into data used by technical systems results in crucial knowledge and insights, ensuring that output will be used and embraced. This important approach earned him a place among the first cohort of 100 emerging changemakers selected to participate in the Obama Foundation’s Leaders USA program.A pioneer in fusing social work, communications and data science, and the most cited and recognized scholar studying how groups constructed online can influence behavior offline, Patton helps organizations create processes that connect employees with customers, enabling their products to affect people more broadly. Through keynote presentations, interactive workshops and as an advisor to AI companies Kai.ai and Lifebrand, Patton helps organizations develop a better approach to diversity and inclusion that includes fairer practices to address the challenge of prejudice, rather than contribute to it.
Sunday, December 3, 2023
1:45 PM – 3:00 PM ET
Sunday, December 3, 2023
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM ET