Sometimes we forget the humans behind the tech in our ever busy world. DSF is fortunate enough to know some incredible tech leaders across the world and has the privilege of hearing them present at our events. That being said, our Speaker Spotlight sets the stage to get to know our speakers on a more personal level and connect them with our growing community. Read the mini interview below!
A bit about Karin:
Karin Rudolph is the Founder of Collective Intelligence a Bristol-based consultancy that provides resources and training to help startups, and SMEs embed ethics into the design and development of technology.
She is currently working on the launch of the Ethical Technology Network, a pioneering initiative to help businesses identify, assess, and mitigate the potential ethical and societal risks of emerging technologies.
Karin has a degree in Sociology, studies in Philosophy and is a regular speaker at universities and conferences.
How did you start out in your tech career?
My interest in technology started some time ago during my time as a sociology graduate when researching the relationship between democracy and technology and how back then the “internet” (that was the term of preference) could be used to enhance public participation.
This was before Facebook and Twitter existed, and it was impossible to get funding or support to explore these topics.
Years later and in an entirely different context, the time came to start delving into these important issues.
What are the signs of success in your field?
When people understand that what you are doing requires knowledge and expertise.
Applying ethical thinking to technology involves implementing a process to identify, mitigate and monitor present and future societal risks.
It’s not about having good intentions, repeating mantras or following a specific ideology.
This is difficult for lots of reasons and because it involves introducing a new process across the entire organisation.
What is the best and worst thing about your job role?
Most difficult: To convince people of all the points mentioned above.
Best: When people understand the importance of the mentioned above.
Ethics as a method will inform a process that will be implemented across an organisation.
Is not a PR or a marketing project.
I always use the example of cybersecurity, which organisations take very seriously as they understand the risks and allocate resources to hire cybersecurity experts and train their teams.
When it comes to ethics, however, they see this as a marketing issue that can be solved by writing a vague copy stating they are making the “world a better place”.
This will change with the upcoming regulations on AI where impact and risk assessments will become part of designing, implementing and deploying AI systems.
What can you advise someone just starting out to be successful?
In this field, you will have to create your own path. This is very exciting but also full of uncertainty.
How do you switch off?
I love reading, going for a long walk, and watching a good film with my family.
What advice would you give your younger self?
The same advice I keep saying to myself today.
Question everything, and don’t ever outsource your judgment.
Have the capacity to learn and hear from different points of view and have informed opinions when criticising and also when agreeing with others.
Social media is eroding this capacity and this is something we need to regain if we want to live in democracy.
What is next for you?
This will be an exciting year for me as I’m launching a pioneering initiative, The Ethical Technology Network, to provide startups and SMEs with the practical tools they need to develop a clear ethical strategy.
I’ll be launching this network with a Conference in Bristol that will bring together businesses and organisations to share best practices and learn about the upcoming regulations, standards, case studies, and the resources available for businesses.
If you could do anything now, what would you do? Why?
What I’m doing now but with more resources.
What are your top 5 predictions in tech for the next 5 years?
Technology and neurorights. More discussions and controversies around our internal mental processes and the battle for using technology to control and monitor our thoughts.
Robot rights Similarly, controversies around the rights of robots. All this sounds very sci-fi, but it’s a topic of research getting lots of attention.
Predictive algorithms of all kinds and how companies and governments, will try to override or avoid legislation restricting their use.
This will be a long and crucial area of development that we need to get right.
The proliferation of anti-AI movements attached to other identity movements.
Virtual worlds, metaverse and similar. Not as a mass adoption but I would expect more news and articles about these topics. The more we talk about these technologies the more real they seem.
Thank you to all our wonderful speakers for taking part in our Speaker Spotlight!
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