Tech and Ethics: The World Economic Forum’s Kay Firth-Butterfield on Doing the Right Thing in AI

Kay Firth-Butterfield was teaching AI, ethics, law, and international relations when a chance meeting on an airplane landed her a job as chief AI ethics officer. In 2017, Kay became head of AI and machine learning at the World Economic Forum, where her team develops tools and on-the-ground programs to improve AI understanding and governance across the globe.

In the final episode of the first season of the Me, Myself, and AI podcast, Kay joins cohosts Sam Ransbotham and Shervin Khodabandeh to discuss the democratization of AI, the values of good governance and ethics in technology, and the importance of having people understand the technology across their organizations — and society. She also weighs in on other themes our hosts have discussed this season, including education, collaboration, and innovation. Read the episode transcript here.

Me, Myself, and AI is a collaborative podcast between MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group, hosted by Sam Ransbotham and Shervin Khodabandeh. Its engineer is David Lishansky, and the coordinating producers are Allison Ryder and Sophie Rüdinger.

Guest bio: Kay Firth-Butterfield is head of AI and machine learning and a member of the executive committee of the World Economic Forum. In the United Kingdom, she is a barrister with Doughty Street Chambers and has worked as a mediator, arbitrator, part-time judge, business owner, and professor. She is vice chair of the IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems and serves on the Polaris Council of the U.S. Government Accountability Office advising on AI.

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