Tess Posner is an American social entrepreneur and musician best known for her work in artificial intelligence advocacy and ethics, focusing on increasing equity and inclusion in technology.[1]
Tess Posner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Known for | Artificial Intelligence AI Ethics Diversity in Technology |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Columbia University (M.A.) Saint John's College (B.A.) |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | AI4ALL |
Posner headed several initiatives to promote diversity in technology before being hired as the CEO of non-profit organization AI4ALL, a position from which she stepped down in 2021 to concentrate on her music career.[2][3][4] Her work has earned recognition including her selection as one of the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics in 2020.[5]
Early years and education
Posner grew up near Boston, Massachusetts. In high school, she traveled to El Salvador to build houses with Habitat for Humanity following an earthquake. Posner holds a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Mathematics from Saint John's College and a Master's degree from Columbia University in Social Enterprise Administration.[6]
Career
Social entrepreneurship
Early in her career, Posner built and ran Samsa School, a non-profit organization providing low-income people worldwide with tools and education to find work in the digital economy. Then, she became the managing director of TechHire at Opportunity@Work, a White House initiative that sought to increase diversity in the technology industry.[7] In 2016, Posner was selected as a fellow at the Institute for the Future.[8]
Posner then joined non-profit organization AI4ALL as their CEO and executive director.[9][10] AI4ALL provides AI education and mentorship particularly towards historically underrepresented talent.[2][11][4] In the years she served as CEO, AI4ALL saw over 15,000 young people participate in the organization's AI education and mentorship programs.[12] Posner has spoken at SXSW, Grace Hopper Celebration, Nvidia GPU Technology Conference, and further conferences about artificial intelligence and technology diversity and outreach.[13][14][15]
She is listed as a coauthor in Vint Cerf and David Nordfors's 2018 book The People Centered Economy: The New Ecosystem for Work.[16]
In an online statement published in October 2021, Posner announced that she would step out of the role as CEO of AI4ALL into an advisory role to pursue her music career full-time.[3] Emily Reid took over her role at the start of 2022 as interim CEO.[17]
Music
Posner is also an alt-pop music artist. She released her first EP in 2018 and released new singles in 2020.[18][19]
Selected awards and recognition
- 2019 – VentureBeat Women in AI Award: Responsibility and Ethics Winner[20]
- 2019 – Alconics Awards AI Innovator of the Year Finalist[21]
- 2020 – 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics Hall of Fame Honoree[5]