Meet the Responsible Tech University Ambassador: Kaylyn Matis
All Tech Is Human recently started a Responsible Tech University Ambassadors program, which is setting up points of contact with university students (undergraduate and graduate) throughout the United States and across the globe. The premise is to provide a greater number of university students a pathway into the nascent Responsible Tech space by being able to connect with an ambassador at their university. Are you interested in becoming a Responsible Tech University Ambassador? Please reach out through our interest form.
The largest barrier I faced in studying tech ethics was siloed departments. In order for ethics and technology students to be successful, they need to be able to study both ethics and technology. This seems obvious, but many universities have degree requirements that make it difficult to complete coursework that overlaps disciplines. In order for future leaders to be successful, university departments need to work together and offer cross disciplinary education.
Tell us about your current involvement in the responsible tech space
This year I will be a senior finishing up my undergraduate degree in Conflict Analysis & Resolution at George Mason University. My current involvement in the responsible tech space consists of my studies as well as my research. I created a concentration that centers on ethics as well as the consequences society faces from emerging technologies. This concentration took over a year of speaking to professionals in the field of tech ethics, working with my university to develop the program, and extensive personal research. I am passionate about combating disinformation and misinformation on social media. My coursework and research revolves around this space. In my personal research, I will combine conflict analysis and technology. In doing so, I will not only analyze the human impact of technology, but open the door for the use of technology in research for future peacemakers. This year I look forward to continuing my personal research as well as completing my degree.
What has been your educational journey so far?
I am in the final year of my undergraduate degree at George Mason University. Over the last two years I developed my education around tech ethics. My degree is in Conflict Analysis & Resolution, with a focus on ethics and the consequences that society faces from emerging technologies. I have not completed my educational journey yet, but there are many courses that have been and will be critical to building my knowledge in the field. Some courses relevant to my educational journey are Violence: Causes, Dynamics & Alternatives, Free Speech and Ethics, and Introduction to Artificial Intelligence. My coursework in conflict analysis & resolution has provided me an understanding as to the potential and real life consequences that technology can and could cause, as well as the tools to prevent these unintentional ramifications. My technical coursework gave me an understanding of how technical systems work, which was necessary in order to understand their impact.
What inspired you to get involved in the space?
My sophomore year of college I was a student researcher on a project with Dr. Mahdi Hashemi that involved the definition, identification and categorization of disinformation on online social networks (OSN). At the time I was pursuing journalism as a career, but quickly realized how technology could benefit this space. I also possessed the valuable resource of my academic librarian mother, who stressed the importance of using reliable sources and taught me how to evaluate information on the internet. I became interested in figuring out how finding a source’s reliability and fact checking could benefit from technology. Determining the reliability of online information can be a time consuming process, and I knew there had to be a way to make it more efficient. With the encouragement of my mother, Elana Sokol, and Dr. Hashemi I became determined to study this sector of tech ethics. I shared my interest with an advisor who connected me to Elana Sokol, a George Mason University graduate that was conducting research in tech ethics and was knowledgeable about the field of tech ethics. Elana Sokol referred me to AllTechIsHuman, which largely aided in my career development. Professionals from All Tech Is Human helped me build my concentration through providing direction in my personal research, providing general career advice, as well as showing me what I could do in this field.
How would you like to see higher education evolve to better prepare responsible tech leaders?
Higher education can evolve to better prepare responsible tech leaders by ending siloed departments, creating university programs for the study of technology and ethics, and listening to students.
The largest barrier I faced in studying tech ethics was siloed departments. In order for ethics and technology students to be successful, they need to be able to study both ethics and technology. This seems obvious, but many universities have degree requirements that make it difficult to complete coursework that overlaps disciplines. In order for future leaders to be successful, university departments need to work together and offer cross disciplinary education. Additionally, universities are often behind on offering the coursework or degrees necessary for future leaders in tech ethics to succeed; technology is moving too fast for them to keep up. The creation of programs that solely focus on technology and ethics would eliminate this barrier, and encourage its study. Most importantly, universities must listen to students. Students need to be allowed to create their own degrees or programs if they are not offered. With this, schools need to provide adequate educational flexibility and direction for student leaders studying on the cutting edge.
What do you see the future of responsible tech headed?
I am not exactly sure where the future of responsible tech is headed. In the future, I see technology and ethics being developed into university curriculums. I have seen university students and researchers on the cutting edge of this field. Many of them are in All Tech Is Human. Advisors, professors, and students like those that have supported me will play a role in spearheading the creation of these forward thinking programs. I am interested to see where the direction of this profession goes, as it is at the center of many current events and university discussions. But for now, I am looking forward to learning from the professionals around me.
What have been the hurdles you faced when aiming to build your career in Responsible Tech?
I faced the hurdles of siloed university departments, lack of resources, and understanding the technical side when aiming to build my career in Responsible Tech. Siloed departments were especially difficult, as I had to sell the concept to my university. On top of this, I had to find a professor that was willing to work with me on my independent studies. This was not easy, as there were very few professors in tech ethics. I had to craft my ideas towards the liberal arts and technical side of departments in order to get it through and explain the value to each discipline. Resources were also hard to come by. I was connected with professionals in the sphere, but it was difficult to find someone doing exactly what I was doing due to how new the space is. The largest hurdle I faced was understanding the technical side of tech ethics. When I decided to pursue this field I had a liberal arts background with little technical knowledge. I had a lot of catching up to do on understanding technology, and I did a lot of it on my own.
What advice would you give to other college and grad students looking to build their career in Responsible Tech?
It is possible to catch up on the tech or ethics side of Responsible Tech, knowledge comes with time, and never underestimate the power of being multi-disciplinary. When I was first looking into creating my concentration, I did not think I had the ability or skills to succeed in a field that involved ethics and technology. I had the ethics part down with my conflict analysis & resolution studies, but was way behind on the tech. I realized that my most vital skills came from work I had done that I did not think to be relevant at the time, but would consistently come in handy while conducting research. For example, the skills I learned from working in journalism have proven critical in the tech ethics sphere. I learned how to write well and in a way that I could convey my ideas across disciplines. When working at M.C. Dean as a marketing intern, I gained knowledge about many technical systems and had access to systems engineers to ask questions while conducting my research. All of the skills I gained studying and researching in my liberal arts degree of Conflict Analysis & Resolution were just as critical as my understanding of complex systems.