Guest Speaker: Dr. Gwyneth Sutherlin

Date: April 2, 2025
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Location: 1889 Museum Road, Room 7200, Gainesville, Florida, 32611
Host: Renwick Program for Ethical, Safe, and Beneficial AI at the Engineering Leadership Institute
Admission: Free

Zoom Link: https://ufl.zoom.us/j/4757626211

Biography: Dr. Sutherlin is a leading expert in socio-cultural analysis–the translation of qualitative research into discrete technology design for decision-making. As director of UC2-University Consortium for Cybersecurity, she oversees a portfolio of research dedicated to increasing communication, collaboration, and access between the academic community and the Department of Defense. As a faculty member in the College of Information Cyberspace at the National Defense University, she develops curriculum to advance the leadership for Globally Integrated Operations in the Information Environment and supports the Joint Staff as a subject matter expert. She is also a visiting scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the group for national security and artificial intelligence. Her teaching and research focus on information influence, emerging technology, and data analysis. Formerly the Director of Human Geography & Analytics Research at a commercial firm, she led teams in technology development, geospatial analysis, and social science research to support the Joint Staff, Global Combatant Commands, the Department of State, and other USG and partner nations’ teams. She draws from over a decade of field experience focused on multilingual communications, risk evaluation, and cognitive pattern analysis in conflict environments. Her hands-on experience in designing intercultural conflict resolution and strategic communication programs in North Africa garnered UN recognition for innovation. Dr. Sutherlin speaks and publishes frequently on cultural cognitive variation in UX, social science driven ML, crowdsourcing for decision-making, and localized data analysis models supporting national security policy decisions. Her research appears in security training, textbooks on emerging technology for conflict analysis, and UN special reports. Dr. Sutherlin has a degree in political science from Indiana University and a PhD in peace and conflict studies from the University of Bradford. She has worked in eight languages.

Title of the Talk: The Dawn of a Discipline: AI Ethics Today

Abstract: Different sciences came into being because of a key invention or notable collaboration which yielded new thinking and changed the field for everyone. Today, the speed of artificial intelligence breakthroughs and its ubiquity in our lives pose this critical mix which requires the scientists of all stripes- social, technical, behavioral, even arts- to apply their skills to the challenge of AI ethics. It is experimental, existential, and most wonderfully, creative. Dr Sutherlin will discuss the roots of change and a few of the latest ideas that we are seeing as we get experience and contribute to the dawn of a new discipline.