Margaret Mitchell

Margaret Mitchell is the Chief Ethics Scientist & Researcher at Hugging Face, a machine learning platform that encourages collaboration within the machine learning community. With a robust background in ethical AI practices from her tenure at major technology firms like Microsoft and Google, Margaret’s primary goal is to develop artificial intelligence that adheres to human values.

When she speaks at various events, she shares her profound knowledge in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the ethics surrounding AI. Her academic journey began with studies in Computational Linguistics at the University of Washington and Reed College, followed by a role as a Research Assistant at the Centre for Spoken Language Understanding. After earning her PhD from the University of Aberdeen, she joined Johns Hopkins University as a Postdoctoral Researcher. At Microsoft, Margaret’s work in Natural Language Processing and AI research was foundational, particularly as the Research Lead for the Seeing AI product at Microsoft, which garnered the Helen Keller Achievement Award from the American Foundation for the Blind in 2018.

As a prolific speaker, Margaret’s influence extends through her thought-provoking presentations, such as her 2018 TED Talk “How We Can Build AI to Help Humans, Not Hurt Us.” In this talk, she urged the audience to be aware of the broader implications of technological and AI innovations. Her role as the keynote speaker at the 2018 Montreal AI Symposium further solidified her reputation in the field. Margaret is also dedicated to fostering diversity in technology, having organised the inaugural workshop for women and underrepresented minorities at ACL.

Margaret’s professional focus spans machine learning research and the practical implementation of AI ethics, often blending principles from ML, social sciences, law, and policy. Her time as a Senior Research Scientist at Google was marked by her significant contributions to shaping and implementing AI practices aligned with human values across the company. She also led the Google Cloud Model Cards product, earning recognition with the US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter’s Tech Spotlight Award—a prestigious accolade.

Today, Margaret Mitchell is available for a wide range of speaking engagements, where she discusses topics related to AI ethics, machine learning, and the evolution of artificial intelligence towards beneficial outcomes. Her insights are invaluable for anyone looking to understand the intersection of technology and ethical practices, making her a sought-after speaker for conferences, symposiums, and workshops worldwide.