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Chinasa T. Okolo, a computer scientist and Brookings Institution fellow has been honoured as one of TIME’s 100 most influential people in AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the second edition of TIME100 AI. This list aims to foster dialogue among leaders and share their insights with TIME’s global readership.
Chinasa was recognised for her efforts to address the risks posed by biased AI systems to communities in the Global South. Through policy advocacy, public speaking, and research, she is working to ensure that these communities are not left behind or exploited. Her work also highlights the potential benefits of AI for Africa, including flood detection and crop disease monitoring, while addressing its possible harms, such as digital harassment on microlending platforms.
TIME notes:
With so much AI development emerging from Silicon Valley, communities in the Global South risk getting left behind technologically, victimized by biased systems, or exploited for their data. Chinasa T. Okolo, a Nigerian-American computer scientist and a Brookings Institution fellow, is trying to mitigate those risks through policy advocacy, public speaking and releasing research papers. Okolo has recently contributed passages to the International Scientific Report on the Safety of Advanced AI, led by Yoshua Bengio; the African Union’s strategy for responsible AI adoption; and Nigeria’s national AI strategy.
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. “I’m optimistic that AI could help fuel socioeconomic development that has been much needed in Africa for the last half-century,” she tells TIME. “But I’m also concerned that this competition could limit the autonomy of African countries and perpetuate neo-colonial practices that have negatively impacted their economies.”
Reflecting on her recognition, Chinasa says, “Receiving this recognition a year after earning my PhD and a year into my professional career is considerable motivation for me to continue my research and advocacy.”
Other notable figures featured in TIME100 AI include Mark Zuckerburg, CEO of Meta; Mira Murati, CTO of OpenAI; Ray Kurzweil, Principal Researcher and AI Visionary at Google; and Marques Brownlee, YouTuber, among others. See the full list here.
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