Changemakers → Olivia Gambelin


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CHANGEMAKERS

Olivia Gambelin

Olivia Gambelin is an AI Ethicist and Founder/CEO of Ethical Intelligence, a global tech ethics consultancy. As the co-founder of the Beneficial AI Society, an Advisor at Tech Scotland Advocates, and a contributor to Ethics in AI, Olivia’s work brings ethical analysis into tech development to create human-centric innovation. She holds an MSc in Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh with a concentration in AI Ethics and a BA in Philosophy and Entrepreneurship from Baylor University. All Tech Is Human’s Andrew Sears spoke with Olivia about her journey from Silicon Valley to the European Union and how it has shaped her understanding of AI ethics

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You founded Ethical Intelligence while in grad school at the University ofEdinburgh. What was your initial inspiration for starting the company?

Prior to Ethical Intelligence, I had co-founded and was running a social group called the Beneficial AI Society. We were a mismatched group of philosophers and programmers who would meet once a week in a local pub to discuss recent AI applications and their implications for humanity. One of my favorite parts of running the society was the collaboration between two very different fields, as it seemed to unlock this deeper understanding of the problems at hand and result in innovative potential solutions. It was during this experience that I began to understand both the depth of knowledge within academia and the growing need for information in industry. 

This gap eventually led to the founding of Ethical Intelligence, however I would not define it as the sole inspiration behind the company. I believe that there is something inherently beautiful about being human, in the messy way we approach challenges, learn through the hard experiences, and support each other through genuine connection. 

“Morality is something I would add to this list, which I believe must be supported and protected by ensuring both an ethical approach to technology, but also approaching the potential influence we have through technology over others with the respect it requires.”

This, bringing the human back into the central focus of our technology, is the driving force behind the work we do with Ethical Intelligence.

You’ve shared in the past that growing up in Silicon Valley shaped your views about technology and the tech industry.Can you say more about how this experience shaped you and informs your work today?

Growing up in Silicon Valley absolutely shaped who I am today, for better or for worse. In one way, it instilled in me strong technical literacy. That was inevitable considering the Valley is a bit of a bubble where the surrounding neighborhoods become the guinea pigs for testing new tech. Being surrounded by startups whose missions were to change the world, however ironic this may have turned out to be, also helped plant the seed in my mind that I could in fact make a difference in some way as long as I tried hard enough.

Even though I credit the Silicon Valley with fostering the ambition I hold today, there was of course a dark side to it all.Technological application, I would like to think, is meant to benefit and improve our lives, but more often than not I saw how detrimental the wrong application can be on someone’s life. I grew up in the heart of solutionism, which eventually led to this growing frustration I had when it came to tech. If these startups and giants alike were claiming to change the world, then why was I left with a feeling that this was an empty promise only to be filled with yet another useless gadget Is Needed to purchase in order to fit in. 

It is this frustration in a way that has inspired my drive to, actually, make a difference in tech by bringing human values back into the center of things. I believe that the only way to create technology that can truly change the world, and not just for the little bubble in California, is to develop a culturally diverse understanding of ethics.

Most of your work these days takes place in the European Union, which tends to be a few years ahead of the US in terms of technology policy and regulation. What do you foresee being the next frontier of tech policy in Europe?

AI will be the next frontier of tech policy in Europe, and truthfully already is. So far Artificial Intelligence has gone generally unregulated with only a few exceptions of legislation beginning to touch on the outer edges of its influence.Currently there is a strong debate happening that centers around the question of whether or not we really do need new legislation, or if we can apply previous laws to AI. The concern is that the European Union claims it wants to be a leader inAI innovation, but will seriously stunt this endeavor if the EU favors an over-regulated position.

In addition to tech policy covering AI in general, the EU is putting significant emphasis on the ethics of this technology.The EU already has a guideline for ethics, a guideline which is quickly moving into regulation in the upcoming years. The Purpose of this is to ensure that whatever way the EU contributes to the development of AI results in responsible and human-centric technology. And as we have seen, just because it is only an EU regulation doesn’t mean the influence ends at the border.

What are some of the cultural or social differences that you’ve observed between how Europeans and Americans view tech ethics?

Generally speaking, Europeans tend to be more communal focused while Americans tend to be more individualistic. This Translates into an interesting divide between how Europeans and Americans approach technology. Europeans tend to have a stronger awareness around how their actions impact others in their society, so they are motivated to act in certain ways given the societal benefits they perceive are associated with that action. 

This means they are, generally speaking,more open to the thought of pursuing certain ethical principles in technology and are intrinsically motivated to do so.Americans, on the other hand, tend to view technology as something that can be used to turn a profit for themselves,which means their motivation tends to be tied closely with what kind of monetary value is assigned to something.

Since Ethics in tech is a fairly new topic and therefore does not have a clearly direct correlation between it and increasing profit, there is less motivation or sense of need to pursue ethics in tech.