September 10, 2024
Chinasa T. Okolo, Ph.D. ’23, has been named to Time’s 100 Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence (AI) 2024 list.
Okolo, who received a Ph.D. in computer science from Cornell, was one of 23 selected for the “Thinkers” category. She is currently a fellow in the Center for Technology Innovation at The Brookings Institution, where she explores the promise of human-centered AI in the Global South. To this end, Okolo examines how African governments can enable effective AI governance, investigates the impact on data work, and analyzes datafication and algorithmic marginalization in Africa.
An internationally recognized researcher on AI in the Global South, Okolo has recently contributed to several international and African AI policy documents.
“Through these endeavors and her own research, she is raising awareness about the benefits using AI could bring to countries across Africa – including detection of floods and crop diseases – as well as its potential harms, such as digitally-enabled harassment on microlending platforms,” Time wrote of Okolo.
Along with her work with The Brookings Institution, Okolo also holds several notable positions: She is a drafting member of the Nigerian National AI Strategy; a consulting expert to the African Union AI Continental Strategy; an expert contributing writer to the International Scientific Report on Advanced AI Safety; the editor-in-chief of Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computers and Society’s (ACM SIGCAS) namesake publication; a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)’s Standards Association working group on algorithmic bias, and a contributing member of the ACM U.S. Technology Policy Committee.
Time launched this annual list, called Time100 AI, last year.