Briana Vecchione, a doctoral student in the field of information science, has been awarded a grant from the Notre Dame-IBM Tech Ethics Lab to explore tools and resources used by auditors of artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
Vecchione’s project, “Open Source Audit Tooling (OAT),” was one of 19 that received funds from the Tech Ethics Lab, which announced the awards last month.
Recognizing the need for tools that allow for thorough and accountable audits of AI systems – at a time when the field of AI is early in its development, Vecchione intends to develop a taxonomy, distribute a survey, and host rounds of interviews with audit tool developers and practitioners. The goal is to “illuminate the landscape of existing tools and encourage solutions that allow for rigorous and accountable scrutiny of AI,” according to the project description on the Tech Ethics Lab’s award announcement.
Based at the Cornell Tech campus, Vecchione addresses issues of auditing and accountability in sociotechnical systems, their social justice roots, and potential public interest implications. She is advised by Karen Levy, associate professor of information science, and Solon Barocas, adjunct assistant professor of information science.