Latanya SWEENEY is a Professor of the Practice of Government and Technology at the Harvard Kennedy School and in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Government. Her mission is to create and use technology to assess and solve societal, political, … Continued
Latanya SWEENEY is a Professor of the Practice of Government and Technology at the Harvard Kennedy School and in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Government. Her mission is to create and use technology to assess and solve societal, political, … Continued
Latanya SWEENEY is a Professor of the Practice of Government and Technology at the Harvard Kennedy School and in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Government. Her mission is to create and use technology to assess and solve societal, political, and governance problems, and to teach others how to do the same. The scientific study of technology’s impact on humankind is termed technology science and I am the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Technology Science.
Her earliest concern about technology’s clash with society was in privacy, and her work first founded the area of study known as data privacy and she is the founding Director of the Data Privacy Lab at Harvard. Similarly, her work was first to demonstrate discrimination in online algorithms, and so, her work first founded the new emerging area known as algorithmic fairness. More recently, her work with Ji Su Yoo and Jinyan Zang was first to demonstrate vulnerabilities in voter websites during the 2016 election.
There are other areas too. She was formerly the Chief Technology Officer, also called the Chief Technologist, at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It was a fantastic experience! One of her goals was to make it easier for others to work on innovative solutions at the intersection of technology, policy and business. Often, she thought of her past students, who primarily came from computer science or governance backgrounds, and who were highly motivated to change the world. She would like to see society harness their energy and get others thinking about innovative solutions to pressing problems. During her time there, she launched the summer research fellows program and blogged on Tech@FTC to facilitate explorations and ignite brainstorming on FTC-related topics.
In 2016, her family and she moved to Currier House at Harvard College, as the X.D. and Nancy Yang Faculty Deans of Currier House. Being a Faculty Dean has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her life. Currier House is a teaching-learning environment for about 300 amazing and exciting Harvard College undergraduates. She is glad to know, work, grow and live with each one of them.