Rana El Kaliouby, an Egyptian-American scientist, launched her new podcast series, Pioneers of AI. The podcast, produced by RieldHoffman’s Masters of Scale, explores the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the future.
In this series, Rana engages in discussions with leading experts to delve into AI’s influence from ethical, philosophical, and sociological perspectives. The aim is to promote the development of responsible and thoughtful technology that is not only innovative but also ethical.
The podcast’s goal is to make AI more accessible and inclusive by featuring voices from diverse ethnic backgrounds and minority groups, ensuring a wide range of perspectives are included in discussions about AI’s role in society.
In her first episode, Rana interviews Dr. Joy Buolamwini, a Canadian-American computer scientist and digital activist, and founder of the Algorithmic Justice League.
According to the Egyptian Streets website, the conversation focuses on the flaws in facial recognition systems and how to make the technology more inclusive. During the episode, the discussion includes the biases present in AI, using the case of Robert Williams, who was wrongfully arrested in 2020 due to a facial recognition system misidentification.
This case marked the first documented instance of wrongful detention due to facial recognition technology, a tool increasingly used by police departments and government agencies across the US. Rana El Kaliouby is committed to humanizing technology before it dehumanizes us.
As the co-founder of AI startup Affectiva, with a PhD in machine learning and computer vision from Cambridge University and postdoc from MIT, she has spent over two decades as a leading innovator in AI, pioneering the field of Emotion AI.
Rana is also a co-founder and general partner at Blue Tulip Ventures, where she invests in early-stage startups building ethical AI that is beneficial for people. In a previous interview with Egyptian Streets, she emphasized the importance of involving young people in the AI revolution.
