- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - Aujourd'hui 04:45

Renee Cummings to Trinidad and Tobago: Start the AI conversation

TT-born AI ethicist, criminologist and University of Virginia assistant professor Renee Cummings’ trek to becoming one of the leading voices on the technology and its development began with disappointment and data. Cummings has received accolades and awards for her work and will receive another on June 27 at Caribbean Heritage Month celebrations in the US. “It is the greatest honour to be in Brooklyn at Kings County Supreme Court to receive an award for the work I have done in AI within the realm of innovation, ethics and justice. I am really blown away by how I have been received by my people and to be celebrated among the great visionaries of this time,” she said in an interview at The Brix, Coblentz Avenue on June 17. But her path to being awarded for AI work was not always smooth and decorated. Her steps into AI began ten years ago when she returned to TT as a mother and criminologist interested in working with the Ministry of National Security. But the technical or research position she hoped for at that ministry did not materialise. But she continued to hope and prepare herself in case the opportunity came. “I guess I am so committed to knowledge sharing, I always prepared myself just in case someone called upon me to deliver a plan to reduce crime, violence and homicides in TT.” Each year she’d buy a red journal and write a plan to reduce crime, criminality and homicides in the country as well as to enhance public safety and security. “It would be multidisciplinary in its approach, looking at youth development, young men in particular, girls and how we should enhance and ensure young people in this country are engaging with each other in ways that remove them from high-risk environments.” Even though,from year to year, she didn't get the call, Cummings was determined to make each plan better than the last. “In doing it every year, I would always say to myself, ‘Maybe they did not call me last year but maybe this year they’d call me and when they call me, I am going to make it even better. “”I’d have all the data.’ I would be looking at LA, New York, New Orleans and San Jose. I’d be looking for populations that were the same size, same issues, as diverse, looking at things globally, looking at the Singapore model, looking at what was going on in Dubai, bringing that sort of technology-driven, intelligence-led approach to it.” She did so many comparative analyses and became more prepared. Eventually, this led to her wanting to learn more about data and how it worked. [caption id="attachment_1162398" align="alignnone" width="1024"] AI ethicist Renee Cummings says AI is more than a technical tool, it is a socio-technical instrument because it is changing everything about society. -[/caption] Her questioning taught her that data was used for four things: foresight, insight, oversight and hindsight. “Data is about intelligent decision-making and I became so savvy in data science; it was data science that led me to what was going to be the future of data: AI. “I started to interact with approaches to data like machine learning, deep learning, neural networks and algorithms. “Working with the US Criminal Justice system where we used algorithms for, like, ten years before that which we called, risk-assessment tools. “And seeing these risk-assessment tools kept creating these zombie predictions and over estimating the risk of black and brown men, in particular, and poor white people in communities. “And also looking at the ways in which police were using data internationally and continuously getting the same poor results, not doing anything new.” Tunnelling through AI took her to AI ethics where she now works to ensure that the technology is developed in a just, fair and transparent environment. Safe, responsible and ethical AI were critical approaches to the way the technology developed, she said. Geopolitically, there were developers, thinkers, ethicists, organisations and agencies in the US committed to safe, responsible, ethical AI and who were still doing the work, despite recent government pronouncements, she said. “That work has been emboldened now more than ever, because what we are realising is that we need to deploy more resources.” To develop a world where there is safe, responsible and just AI, several things had to be done: closing the digital divide, enhancement of anything dealing with AI and data literacy, and a heavy focus on data, Cummings said. “While certain conversations may be happening at a governmental level and those conversations are the ones that are disseminated, don’t be fooled, the work is happening and happening in a very strong way. [caption id="attachment_1162399" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Renee has led conversations on AI and ethics in many countries, among them Brazil, Suriname, Ireland, UK, UAE, Morocco, Qatar, South Africa, France, Switzerland and Canada.  -[/caption] “What may have happened is that resources may have been removed from many of the individuals, agencies, organisations and research teams looking at diversity, equity and inclusion and we know that is now a policy in the US. “But the work continues and many organisations, non-profits have stepped into that space to offer the kinds of resources needed.” Although many people know of and regard British-Canadian cognitive and computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton as the godfather of AI and his recent conversations about the possible inequities that could arise from the technology, Cummings said many other thinkers were having those discussions long before him. She stressed that many black and brown women voiced some of the issues with AI early on, herself included. Women like Ethiopian-born computer scientist Timnit Gebru, internet scholar and gender studies Prof Safiya Noble and author of Weapons of Math Destruction Cathy O’Neal were among those who long raised the alarms. “There have been voices of black, brown, trans, queer women in this space who have been talking about these existential risks long before our most generous godfather.” Cummings asked whether Hinton and others ever felt the impact of an algorithm, the pain of digital issues like black and brown people being denied loans, mortgages, receiving low credit scores and who experienced digital redlining because of algorithms. “Do you think he has ever felt the impact of an algorithm, ever felt the pain of an algorithm, the trauma of an algorithm. Where is he getting that evidence because the people who have already felt it were the ones who raised it.” This was why it was “critical” for small island states like TT to join the conversation on AI. “We are not in the conversation and we have got to bring ourselves into the conversation. The AI conversation begins with data. “We have got to ask ourselves, ‘What are our policies around data, data governance, data privacy, data stewardship and all of those critical questions.’” TT had not had the conversion about data and is yet to have a conversation about its statistical office, she said. This was the first step to starting an AI conversation. She said TT has to do work to re-imagine its statistical office and bring it into 2025 because that is where data collection begins. “We are not even ready to have a conversation about AI because we are yet to have a conversation about data. “There is a fallacy that AI is ChatGPT. Boys and girls, AI is not ChatGPT. ChatGPT is one aspect of artificial intelligence and is a large-language model, it is not a knowledge model but a predictive one that works to do some fun things and some not-so-fun things.” Simultaneously, TT should begin work on a national AI strategy, she advised. “Every country in the world is either in the process of deploying their strategy or completing the development of their strategy. It is so critical because AI impacts every aspect of our society, every industry, every discipline. “AI is re-imagining every business model, globally.” She said the conversation is critical as it would be a central indicator of the country’s competitiveness in an AI-infused, driven world. AI, in the meanwhile, is forging ahead rapidly and its developmental stages now include agentic AI, which referred to systems acting autonomously with little to no human intervention, she said. Big conversations and movements are happening, like the EU’s AI Act which, she said, is the most robust piece of legislation centred on algorithmic rights, risks and responsibilities thus far. Cummings has led conversations on AI and ethics in many countries, among them Brazil, Suriname, Ireland, UK, UAE, Morocco, Qatar, South Africa, France, Switzerland and Canada. Usually she is the only Trinidadian, Caribbean, and sometimes, the only darker-skinned person in the room when conversations about AI policies are taking place globally. That was why she urges as many Caribbean countries to get into those conversations. “If we are not in those conversations, it means we do not have the requisite understanding at the moment to interpret what needs to be done. “We want to ensure we are able to innovate with this technology and we are able to innovate at all levels including governmental. “Data now determines the trajectory of a country: economically, socially, culturally and, even politically. If you are not understanding your data, if you are not collecting, analysing, developing data-driven systems, you are not ready yet for a conversation on AI.” AI is about more than naming a ministry, she said. It requires discussing questions like how to protect the rights of citizens, their privacy, the risks of it and deploying the kinds of frameworks for responsible, safe and ethical AI. “AI is more than a technical tool, it is a socio-technical instrument because it is changing everything about society, and, for many countries, the realisation is still not there.” Whether the answer lies in creating a digital block, Cummings said the region and country needs to be rapidly having these kinds of discussions. But she see the region’s diversity as a plus in the unfolding AI era and TT, known for its rich diversity, could be the nucleus of that block. “We are so diverse as a society, we have the ability to collect the most diverse data, probably in the world. There are few societies in the world that are similar to us doing that. “We could show the world what diversity, equity, inclusion and safety looks like in innovation.” But this needs an all-of-TT approach to be attained. Youth, especially, is essential to AI development as it could provide an alternative to some of the country’s crime problems as well as be a major earner. But this too requires the country and region to begin seeing themselves as data producers and innovators. “We need to see ourselves as leaders in global governance and we need conversation that contributes to the global conversation. “To really use AI and not be used by AI,” she said, is what a modern TT citizen needed to know.   The post Renee Cummings to Trinidad and Tobago: Start the AI conversation appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.