Recently, a connection of mine on LinkedIn, Kelly Trindel, wrote out her journey of how she came to be Head of ML Trust at Workday. At the end of her story, she invited others to tell their story as well. My journey doesn’t look like hers … really at all. Knowing diversity is power, I thought I would tell my story too.
When I was just 10 years old, I read my very first sci-fi book, "Prelude to Foundation," by Isaac Asimov. I remember being enamored by the simplicity of the Laws of Robotics and thinking through the implications of rules like this actually meant. I wondered, even at that young age, whether the Laws made the robots slaves to humans if that was OK. I didn't realize it at the time, but these questions would become the unseen force driving my entire career.
Almost 10 years ago now, I took a trip to the doctor's office. I had mentioned during the exam that I was gay, and the doctor entered "Homosexuality" as a medical condition in my electronic medical record. He did this because that was the only place he could document it. It wasn't under patient demographics. instead was under a section of the software specifically used to call out medical conditions, like asthma, headache, and gastrointestinal distress. What the designers of the software were saying, right there, is that my homosexuality was a medical condition to be corrected, not a characteristic of me as a person.
It’s hard to articulate what that felt like at the moment. It represented, to me, such a dereliction of duty of the designers, the engineers, and the leadership of this software to allow this to happen that I couldn’t fathom how they could think it was ok. But the experience stuck with me, and became the catalyst for my passion for tech ethics. I wanted to know how I could stop something like that from happening again—how could I prevent someone else from feeling what I felt that day because of the choices of a software developer?
Several years later, the responsible tech and tech ethics movement started to gain steam and I got my answer. With my doctor’s office experience in mind, I saw this as an opportunity to make things better in tech.
I started by picking up books like “Algorithms of Oppression,” “Data Feminism,” and “Technically Wrong,” to broaden my understanding of how tech ethics problems show up. I joined
as a volunteer, and I still work with them today. I co-led an effort with the Social Impact team at my company to develop and pitch a proposal for a Tech Ethics program. I contributed to my company's AI Code of Ethics. I got involved in the DEI efforts at my company and became a global lead in our Pride group. I learned about Privacy and earned certifications in US Privacy Law, EU Privacy Law, Privacy Program Management, and Privacy Engineering.Process and governance are major pieces of AI Ethics and Tech Ethics programs, so I transitioned from my role as a product manager to a Product Operations role, where process and governance are front and center. I started learning more about artificial intelligence, machine learning, and generative AI. I started Byte-Sized Ethics to continue to grow, learn more, and help others better understand the ethical and moral implications of AI and technology. Every day, I’m reading about, listening to, or writing about AI ethics.
My job title doesn’t include AI Ethicist or Tech Ethicist, but it doesn’t mean I’m not an ethicist. My colleagues look to me to help them think through ethical considerations of their features and processes. I get to help my organization team think through the implications of their work to make more inclusive designs. I get the privilege of working with some of the most passionate, intelligent people I’ve ever met on issues of AI ethics and tech ethics. I am proud of the path I’ve taken to get here, even though it wasn’t the path I thought it would be.
I’d be lying if I said this was the path I thought my career would take, or the shape that it would take. Ten-year-old me, reading about robots and psychohistory couldn’t have predicted the impact that first book would have on my life or the journey it would inspire me to take.
I’d also be lying if I said my journey is done — it’s not. I’m about as “in it” as anyone can possibly be. I am thankful for the opportunity I have to grow, continue to learn more, and be better than I was yesterday. And in the process, help other people and companies be better today than they were yesterday.
How about you? What does your journey look like? Let me know in the comments below!