About

I am a Fellow at The Brookings Institution and Founder of Technēculturǎ. I recently graduated with a Ph.D. from the Department of Computer Science at Cornell University, where my research leveraged ethnographic methods to understand how frontline healthcare workers in rural India perceive and value AI and analyzed how AI explainability can meet the needs of novice technology users in the Global Majority. My work has been published at top-tier venues in HCI and sociotechnical computing, including the Association for Computing Machinery’s (ACM) CHI, CSCW, COMPASS, EAAMO, and FAccT conferences. I have also been recognized as one of the world’s most influential people in AI by TIME Magazine, honored in the inaugural Forbes 30 Under 30 AI list, and named one of the Most Influential Africans of 2024 by New African Magazine, a Trailblazer in Engineering, and one of 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics™.

At Brookings, my research continues to explore the dimensions of human-centered AI in the Global Majority by examining how African governments can effectuate robust AI and data governance, investigating the geopolitical impacts of AI in the Majority World, and analyzing datafication and algorithmic marginalization in Africa. My general research interests include AI governance, AI safety, AI literacy, explainable AI, and African development. My work has been supported by the Social Science Research Council, MacArthur Foundation, McGovern Foundation, Kapor Center, The National GEM Consortium, Oracle Corporation, the North American Network Operators’ Group (NANOG), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and Google and covered in venues like VICE, Bloomberg, Newsweek, The Washington Post, and VentureBeat, amongst others. I have been invited to share my work at industry research labs, including Google Research India, Microsoft Research India, and the Microsoft Africa Research Institute (MARI). I have also been featured in TechCrunch and provided commentary to leading outlets such as the MIT Technology Review, New York Times, VICE, Scientific American, Fast Company, Voice of America, Rest of World, SEMAFOR, and Devex.

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Pomona College, a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Cornell University. Aside from my work at Brookings, I also serve as a Consulting Expert with the African Union, an Expert Contributing Writer to the International AI Safety Report, a Drafting Member of the Nigerian Federal Government National AI Strategy, the Editor-in-Chief of ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society, a member of the IEEE Standards Association working group on algorithmic bias, and a contributing member of the ACM US Technology Policy Committee.

I’m open to media requests, invited talks, panels, consulting projects, invitations to advisory boards/committees, and other relevant opportunities. For inquiries, please refer to the guidance listed in my Media Kit and use the contact form on my Brookings web page.