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To give women academics and others focused on AI their well-deserved — and overdue — time, TechCrunch is launching a series of interviews focusing on these remarkable women. who have contributed to the AI revolution. We’ll be publishing several pieces throughout the year as the AI boom continues, highlighting important work that often goes unrecognized. Read more profiles here.
As an AI expert at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), an international initiative to promote the use of responsible AI, Tiedrich develops approaches to AI that Assess and manage risk by aligning law, policy and practice with science. She has served on the faculty of Duke University and advised numerous companies, and was a longtime partner at the law firm Covington & Burling LLP.
Tiedrich, a tech transactions and intellectual property attorney, also served on the Biden campaign policy committee and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Lee Tiedrich, Global Contribution on AI
Briefly, how did you get your start in AI? What drew you to the field?
I have been working at the intersection of technology, law, and policy for decades, starting with cellular, then the Internet, and e-commerce to date. I am passionate about helping organizations optimize the benefits and mitigate risks of emerging technologies in a rapidly changing and complex legal environment. I’ve been working on AI issues for years and long before it dominated the headlines, since I was a partner at Covington & Burling LLP. In 2018, as commercial AI uses and legal challenges grow, I became Covington’s Global and Multidisciplinary Co-Chair.
The Artificial Intelligence Initiative and much of my practice focuses on AI, including AI governance, compliance, transactional and government affairs.
What work are you most proud of (in the AI field)?
Unlocking the benefits of AI and mitigating the risks requires global and multidisciplinary solutions. I am proud of my extensive work that unites disciplines, geographies and cultures to help address these critical challenges. This work started in Covington working on AI.
Governance and other matters with client lawyers, engineers and business teams. Most recently, as a member of both the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) AI and the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) Global Expert Groups, I have been working on high-level multidisciplinary AI issues, including AI governance, responsible AI data and model sharing and how to address climate, intellectual property and privacy issues in an AI-powered world. I co-lead both the GPAI Intellectual Property Committee and the Responsible AI Strategy for Environment (RAISE) Committee. My multidisciplinary work also extends to Duke, where I designed and taught a course that brings together graduate students from various programs to work with the OECD, corporations, and others on responsible real-world technical issues. . It’s exciting to help develop the next generation of AI leaders to tackle multidisciplinary AI challenges.
How do you navigate the challenges of the male-dominated tech industry, and by extension, the male-dominated AI industry?
Starting as a Duke undergraduate, I spent most of my life navigating male-dominated fields where I was one of the few female electrical engineering students. I was also the 22nd woman selected for a Covington fellowship, and my practice focused on technology.
Male-dominated industries start by doing great innovative work and making it known with confidence. This increases the demand for your work and usually leads to more opportunities. Women should also focus on building good relationships within the AI ecosystem. This helps in developing key mentors and sponsors as well as clients and customers. I also encourage women to actively use their networks to seek opportunities to increase their knowledge, profile and experience, which may include participating in industry associations and other activities.
Finally, I urge women to invest in themselves. There are many resources and networks that can help women navigate and advance in AI and other industries. Women must set goals and identify and take advantage of resources that can help them achieve those goals.
What advice would you give to women aspiring to enter the AI field?
There are many opportunities in the AI field, including for engineers, data scientists, lawyers, economists, and business and government affairs professionals. I encourage women to find an aspect of the AI field that they are passionate about and pursue it. People often work on things they care about.
Women should also invest in developing and promoting their skills. This may include joining professional associations, attending networking events, writing articles, public speaking or continuing legal education. AI looking at a wide range of novel and challenging problems
offers, there are many opportunities for young professionals to become experts quickly. Women should actively pursue these opportunities. Building skills and a good professional network can help.
What are the most pressing issues facing AI as it evolves?
AI holds great promise for advancing global prosperity, security and social good, including helping to tackle climate change and achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. However, if not developed or used correctly, AI can present safety and other risks, including to individuals and the environment. Society faces the grand challenge of developing frameworks that unlock the benefits of AI and mitigate the risks. This requires multidisciplinary collaboration, as laws and policies need to incorporate relevant technologies as well as market and social realities. As technology crosses borders, international coordination is also important. Standards and other tools can help drive international harmonization, particularly as legal frameworks vary across jurisdictions.
What issues should AI users be aware of?
I recently called for a global AI learning campaign in a piece published with the OECD. This illustrates the urgent need to educate consumers about the benefits and risks of AI applications they intend to use. This knowledge will empower them to make better decisions about using AI applications, including how to mitigate risks.
Additionally, AI users should be aware that AI has become increasingly regulated and subject to litigation. Government AI implementation is also expanding, and AI users may be liable for damages caused by AI systems made available by their third-party vendors. To mitigate potential liability and other risks, AI users should establish proactive AI governance and compliance programs to manage their AI deployments. They should conduct due diligence before agreeing to use third-party AI systems.
What is the best way to build AI responsibly?
Building and deploying AI responsibly requires several key steps. It starts with publicly adopting and upholding good responsible AI values to act as a North Star, as embodied by the OECD AI Principles. Given the complexities of AI, it is also important to develop and implement an AI governance framework that applies to the AI system lifecycle and fosters multidisciplinary collaboration between technical, legal, business, sustainability and other experts. In addition to ensuring compliance with applicable laws, the governance framework should be an element of the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and other key guidance. As the AI legal and technology landscape changes rapidly, the governance framework must enable the organization to respond flexibly to new developments.
How can investors best push for responsible AI?
Investors typically have a number of ways to advance responsible AI in their portfolio companies. To begin with, they must embrace responsible AI as an investment priority. Besides doing the right thing, it’s good for business. Market demand for responsible AI is increasing, which should increase portfolio company profitability. Additionally, in our increasingly regulated and legalized AI world, responsible AI practices must mitigate the risks of litigation and potential reputational damage caused by poorly designed AI.
Investors can advance responsible AI by exercising oversight through their corporate board appointments. Increasingly, corporate boards are increasing oversight of technology matters. They should also consider structuring investments to include other monitoring mechanisms.
Additionally, even if not addressed in investment agreements, investors can introduce portfolio companies to potential responsible AI hires or consultants and encourage their involvement in the ever-expanding responsible AI ecosystem. Can encourage and support.