In Part One of her two-part conversation with Brenda Darden Wilkerson, Dr. Timnit Gebru shares her journey from fleeing conflict in Ethiopia to becoming a leading voice in ethical AI. She reflects on the racism she faced after arriving in the U.S. and how those experiences shaped her path in computer vision and machine learning. Timnit unpacks the term “AI” as a marketing label that oversimplifies the field’s many disciplines and explains the recurring cycles of hype and disappointment that surround emerging technologies.
The conversation also explores how bias shows up in AI systems—particularly when communities are excluded from both the data and development process. Timnit points to examples like facial recognition failures and predictive policing tools to show how harmful outcomes stem from who builds the technology and why. She advocates for community-centered AI research that prioritizes care over scale and challenges the power structures driving today’s tech.
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Our guests contribute to this podcast in their personal capacity. The views expressed in this interview are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology or its employees (“AnitaB.org”). AnitaB.org is not responsible for and does not verify the accuracy of the information provided in the podcast series. The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This podcast series does not constitute legal or other professional advice or services.