Hello world! I am Nafees Abdullah and I am a junior from New York City, pursuing a major in Computer Science and minor in Public Policy. This year, I am joining as a Digital Scholarship Intern in Accessibility and Ethics.
Technology is a transformative force that leaves cultural imprints. For instance, the printing press revolutionized communication and made knowledge more available. Eventually, it was made obsolete with the advent of the printer. However, the printing press still leaves a tangible impact in our societies as seen in our language (which I learned in our training this week): we still refer to letters based on how they were stored in a type case for a printing press (uppercase and lowercase). The mechanisms that are implemented when creating a technology reflect the world of its inventor, in ways that the inventor intended to impact the world — and ways the inventor did not.
While the unintentional impact of the printing press is harmless, the impact of emerging technology like artificial intelligence (AI) is less so. As AI is incorporated into society-changing tools like hiring screeners and recidivism prediction, researchers are uncovering instances of bias encoded into the systems. One of my interests as a budding computer scientist is in AI, but I want to ensure it is implemented in an ethical manner, free of bias and with minimal harm as possible. My desire for ethical technology does not stop at AI, though, and I am excited to learn more about the ways emerging technologies have been implemented ethically and how these decisions were made.
Outside being a DSI, I serve as the secretary of Carleton’s ColorCode club, a club for students of color interested in computer science. I also have started learning how to dance, both on my own and through Carleton’s numerous dance clubs like Latin Social Dance. I am also a TTRPG and video game enthusiast – I am currently playing in one campaign and attempting to beat Ascension 9 in Slay the Spire 2.
I’m really looking forward to working with the DSI team this year!
– Nafees, from the Anderson Atrium
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