Professor Danaë Metaxa to represent Penn in United States AI Safety Institute Consortium

Danaë Metaxa, the Raj and Neera Singh Term assistant professor in Computer and Information Science, was recently chosen as Penn’s representative for The United States AI Safety Institute Consortium.

The consortium, which was originally created in February 2024, focuses on creating guidelines, useful measurements, and safety features for those using artificial intelligence. It brings together hundreds of organizations, consumers, leading specialists in the industry, and researchers to make sure that AI can be used effectively and efficiently.

The consortium, housed within the U.S. Department of Commerce, intends to contribute to President Joe Biden’s 2023 Executive Order on ensuring safe, secure, and trustworthy AI.

Metaxa is the author of “Auditing Algorithms: Understanding Algorithmic Systems from the Outside In,” and has been invited to talks for the Nobel Prize Summit, Stanford University, John Hopkins University, and more. Prior to coming to Penn, they were a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society’s Program on Democracy and the Internet. 

Metaxa previously taught a CIS 7000 “Algorithmic Justice” and now teaches a class on the human-computer interaction. Penn HCI, an initative they co-founded, aims to develop technologies to positively impact individuals and communities. 

The consortium will help integrate experts and novices on this growing issue especially as it could be a useful tool but could also have harmful impacts on academia. Metaxa’s contributions will support the consortium through engaging in collaborative and interdisciplinary research, understanding AI’s impact on society and the economy, and facilitating the transfer of technology between consortium members.

“I am honored to bring my expertise to the consortium and represent Penn in this collaborative effort of keeping AI safe and ethical,” Metaxa said in the Penn Engineering Today announcement. “It is important we have these bridges to ensure our research translates to real-world impact.”