Campus: Duke

Hometown: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Pronouns: he/him/his

What drew you to the Robertson Scholars Leadership Program? 

My passion over the last two years has been focused on creating more efficient and ethical artificial intelligence (AI) systems. As AI begins to permeate all industries and increasingly control decisions about our lives, I believe leaders in AI must consider its societal implications. As we work towards building an ethical, technologically adaptive, and efficient AI ecosystem, numerous key questions keep arising. Is the system fully autonomous? Is it ethical and unbiased? How do we know it works efficiently? What is the system’s intent? These questions are as philosophical as they are technical. I believe there is no silver-bullet technical “fix” to this issue, but rather further research and community support are required to find the answers.

For me, herein lies the power of the Robertson program: the community. As I read about and spoke with existing scholars, it was exciting to hear a range of political perspectives and ideological leanings within the program. The collaborative nature of the program and its focus on candid, open discussion about everyone’s beliefs and values creates the perfect platform for us to create this technological future together. I hope to explore how our collective values can be encoded into these systems, ensuring bias is controlled and the best interests of humans are kept at the forefront. Overall, Robertson provides the perfect mix of friendship and support, the challenge of new ideas from different events and members, and the resources to achieve this vision.