We’re excited to announce our newest cohort of Senior Tech Policy Fellows who will join the Senior Trustworthy AI Fellows.

(SAN FRANCISCO | MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022) – Mozilla defines trustworthy AI as AI that is demonstrably worthy of trust, tech that considers accountability, agency, and individual and collective well-being. As part of our mission to advance this work, we are supporting experts who are already demonstrating a passion for this undertaking in their fields.

From investigating algorithmic technologies in rural United States of America to examining the impact of targeted advertising on women in the commercial and political setting, the new cohort of Senior Tech Policy Fellows will help advance the movement towards trustworthy AI.

This group of experts have identified policy issues across Africa, South America, the US, EU and the UK and will contribute to the policy ecosystem that advances the trustworthiness of AI. They join an exceptional group of fellows in trustworthy AI, the first of its kind for Mozilla, who are already a year into their work in the advancement of our mission.

It is with great pleasure that we introduce the five Mozilla Senior Tech Policy fellows who will spend up to two years identifying and proferring policy recommendations in the advancement of trustworthy AI.

Says J. Bob Alotta, Vice President of Global Programs at Mozilla: “I’m excited to have this formidable group of fellows join the movement towards trustworthy AI and the policies and frameworks that will assist us in getting there. AI is a big part of our daily lives and it is integral that we have people like these fellows who are holding platforms to account in a meaningful way.”

I’m excited to have this formidable group of fellows join the movement towards trustworthy AI and the policies and frameworks that will assist us in getting there. AI is a big part of our daily lives and it is integral that we have people like these fellows who are holding platforms to account in a meaningful way.

J.Bob Alotta, Vice President of Global Prgrams at Mozilla

These five Senior Fellows in Tech Policy will join Mozilla’s broader roster of senior fellows.

Meet the fellows:

picture of Jasmine McNealy

Jasmine McNealy is an attorney, technologist, and internationally recognized scholar whose research is interdisciplinary, centered at the intersection of media, technology, policy, and law. Of particular focus are the areas of privacy, surveillance, and data governance and the impacts on marginalized and vulnerable communities. Her research has been published in social science, law, ethics, and computer science journals and funded by public and private organizations. She is a public scholar who understands the importance of making research explainable and accessible to the wider public.

During her fellowship, Jasmine will investigate how AI and algorithmic technologies impact rural and rural adjacent communities in the US.

picture of Julia Keserű

Julia Keserű is an activist and writer working at the intersection of technology and justice. In the past 15 years she has advised numerous organizations on their data and technology strategies, written extensively about the challenges and opportunities of data-driven systems and led diverse global teams to create a healthier and safer online world. Julia is the Executive Director of The Engine Room, a globally distributed team that supports social justice activists to use data in strategic, responsible and safe ways.

Julia’s fellowship will explore the role that bodily integrity could play in tech industry regulation. This will be done through mixed method research to identify how the inviolability of the physical body has become a key concept in other fields such as health care, and draw potential parallels for the tech policy agenda.

Picture of Kristophina Shilongo

Kristophina Shilongo is a researcher contributing to the sustainable adoption of data-driven technologies in Africa. She is curious about drawing lessons from collective/participatory governance frameworks in various sectors to apply to the development and deployment of AI technologies. She holds a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences focusing on Data and Society as well as a bachelor’s degree in Communications from the Namibia University of Science and Technology.

Kristophina’s project will make policy recommendations which support or provide alternate interventions to those outlined in the African Union Data Policy Framework implementation plan and where possible to national data policies or regulation on the continent.

Picture of Lucy Purdon

Lucy Purdon was Policy Director at Privacy International leading on internal policy development across the organization. Lucy previously led the ICT Programme at The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) working on the global corporate responsibility to respect privacy and freedom of expression in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Lucy has an MA in Human Rights from ICwS, University of London, and a BA (Hons) Film and Video from the London College of Communications.

During her fellowship Lucy will focus on driving legal and policy reforms related to the online advertising industry alongside researching the impact of targeted advertising on women in the commercial and political context.

Picture of Tarcizio Silva

Tarcizio Silva is a Brazilian researcher and technologist based in São Paulo. Previously, he was a Mozilla Tech and Society fellow embedded at Ação Educativa, developing educational awareness projects about technology, the internet and racism. He is a PhD researcher (UFABC) and UFBA alumni, author of the book "Algorithmic Racism: artificial intelligence and discrimination in digital media", and creator of the curatorial project Desvelar on decolonial thinking about technology and media.

During his fellowship, Tarcizio will focus on platform accountability, AI and racial justice in Brazil.