2023-24 David Ellis Lecture - "Who the computer sees: Race, gender, and AI"

Posted: January 24, 2024

Keynote Speaker: Carla Fehr, Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy, University of Waterloo

Graphic reads 2023-24 David Ellis Lecture Ask Me Anything. Who The Computer Sees: Race, Gender, and AI. Calendar graphic next to day, Feb 6 2024. Clock graphic next to time 1 pm to 2:30pm. Location pin graphic next to words Champlain CCS 307. Graphic and photo of Keynote speaker with the words Carla Fehr. Wolfe chair in scientific technological literacy. department of philosophy. university of waterloo. bottom says thank you to Kenneth MArk Drain chair in Ethics for their contributions.

Event Details

Tuesday, February 6, 2024
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Building: Champlain College
Room: CCS 307

Join us at our second annual BAS "Ask Me Anything" Ellis Lecture - this Tuesday, February, 6, at 1 p.m. in CCS 307. This year, our guest is Dr. Carla Fehr, who will be discussing "Who the Computer Sees: Race, gender, and AI."

Who the computer sees: Race, gender, and AI

Facial recognition systems can do a lot more than open your smartphone. They can sort faces into many categories, including emotional state, age, race, and sex. Most Americans are, without their consent, included in government face recognition databases. This paper develops a case study in which scholar, activist, and public figure Joy Boulamwini diagnoses a now-famous failure of facial recognition systems to ‘see’ and accurately classify Black women’s faces. This case is important because it provides a detailed story and rich evidence to help us understand how technology can reproduce human values and the significance of attending to who creates and uses this technology.

Dr. Carla Fehr

Carla Fehr holds the Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Waterloo and leads University of Waterloo’s Gender and Social Justice Program. She is a member of the Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute and the Consortium for Engendering Success in STEM. Dr. Fehr is a co-founder and co-editor of Feminist Philosophy Quarterly. Dr. Fehr’s research, which focuses on values in science and the role of diversity in developing excellent scientific and technological research, has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Dr. Fehr is the principal of Championing Women in STEM, an enterprise that provides leadership and career coaching for women in traditionally male-dominated fields.

Contact Info

Bachelor of Arts and Science Degree Program - bas@trentu.ca

Jessica Barr, Program Coordinator

Christine Quigley, Academic Administrative Assistant