School of Social and Political Science

Description

Part of the Controversies in the Data Society 2025 series
A cross-disciplinary series of public lectures and discussion on AI and the datafication of society

Computer systems, like all technologies, come with risks, especially when embedded within processes and practices that require dependability and resilience – in healthcare, critical infrastructure, transport, stockmarkets etc. Machine learning-based AI systems are no different, but also pose some special challenges.

Speakers
 

Dr Peaks Krafft

Lecturer, Sociology 

Staff profile

Dr Peaks Krafft (they/them) is Lecturer in Computational Sociology and Co-Director of the MSc Digital Sociology at the University of Edinburgh. Prior to joining Edinburgh, Dr Peaks launched the University of the Arts London's MA Internet Equalities, and before that lectured in Social Data Science at the University of Oxford Internet Institute. Dr Krafft received their PhD in Computer Science from MIT in 2017 and undertook postdoctoral work at the University of Washington Information School, the University of California Berkeley Department of Psychology, and the Data & Society Research Institute. Their publications cross AI, cognitive science, science & technology studies, communications, and sociology.

Dr Atoosa Kasirzadeh

Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon

Atoosa is a philosopher and AI researcher with a track record of publications on ethical AI, AI safety and AI policy. She serves as a visiting research scientist at Google Research, holds a 2024 Schmidt Sciences AI2050 early career fellowship, and is a steering committee member for the ACM FAccT conference. In December 2024, she joined Carnegie Mellon University as an Assistant Professor with joint affiliations in the Philosophy and Software & Societal Systems departments. Previously, she served as a Chancellor’s Fellow and Director of Research at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Technomoral Futures, a group research lead at the Alan Turing Institute, a DCMS/UKRI Senior Policy Fellow, a Governance of AI Fellow at Oxford, and a student researcher at Google DeepMind. Atoosa holds two doctoral degrees: a PhD in Philosophy of Science and Technology from the University of Toronto and a PhD in Mathematics (Operations Research) from the École Polytechnique de Montréal. Her research combines quantitative, qualitative, and philosophical methods to explore questions about the societal impacts, governance, and future of AI and humanity. Atoosa’s publications can be found here. Her work has been featured in major media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and TechCrunch. Email: atoosa.kasirzadeh@gmail.com 

https://kasirzadeh.org/