TWAS-TYAN Joint Seminar Series – Sandra Avila 14 October - Ethics by design: responsible AI, real-world impact

[Infopoint]

Dear ICTP Community,

TWAS and the TWAS Young Affiliates Network <https://twas.org/tyan>(TYAN) 
have launched the *TWAS-TYAN Joint Seminar Series,* designed to provide 
a platform to address shared global challenges and fostering dialogue 
across borders and disciplines. By bringing together leading experts and 
emerging scientists, the initiative contributes to strengthen science 
diplomacy as a tool for international cooperation.

The second webinar in this series will feature responsible-AI expert 
*Sandra Avila*, to address the hidden role of data in building fair and 
trustworthy AI. The event will**take place online via Zoom on *14 
October at 3 p.m. CEST* and will include a Q&A session.To participate in 
the webinar, register here. 
<https://unesco-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JCNRDWuwTGKRdwt3yCi32Q#/registration>

*Abstract*

*Ethics by design: responsible AI, real-world impact*

In this talk, Avila will explore why talking about AI models might 
already be too late to build responsible AI. At present, there is a need 
to talk about data. That shift is what moved Avila from teaching machine 
learning to teaching data feminism. Grounded in real-world applications, 
from skin cancer detection in black patients to systems designed to 
identify child sexual abuse imagery, Avila will demonstrate how bias can 
enter AI long before a model is trained, and what can be done to address it.

*Who is Professor Sandra Avila*

Sandra Avila is an associate professor at the Institute of Computing, 
University of Campinas <https://www.unicamp.br/>(UNICAMP), Brazil. She 
earned her bachelor's degree from the Federal University of Sergipe 
<https://en.ufs.br/pagina/21114>, in 2006, her master's degree from the 
Federal University of Minas Gerais 
<https://www.ufmg.br/international/about-the-ufmg/>(UFMG) in 2008, and a 
joint PhD from UFMG and Sorbonne Université 
<https://www.sorbonne-universite.fr/en>in 2013.

Her research focuses on responsible AI, grounded in Brazilian and Latin 
American realities, through a gender-conscious feminist lens. Her work 
has received recognition through *Google Latin America Research Awards* 
in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, and the *Google Award for Inclusion 
Research* in 2022.

In addition, she has been awarded the *UNICAMP–Vladimir Herzog 
Institute's Human Rights Recognition* awards in 2023 and 2024, and the 
*L'Oréal Brazil's More Inclusive Dermatology Award* in 2025. In 2020, 
the Brazilian Academy of Sciences <https://www.abc.org.br/>selected her 
to represent Brazil at the *BRICS Young Scientists Forum in AI*. She has 
also been named among the top 2% most-cited scientists worldwide, 
according to the Stanford/Elsevier metric.

We hope you will join us for this event and take part in the discussion.


Best regards,

Giovanni Ortolani

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