Meredith Whittaker

Meredith Whittaker

• Globally renowned expert on the social implications of AI
• President of the Signal Foundation
• Founder of Google’s Open Research Group and co-founder of the AI Now Institute
• Advisor to governments and civic organisations on all things related to AI and the internet. This will include the European Union in 2024
• Testified before US Congress on “Artificial Intelligence: Societal and Ethical Implications”

Meredith Whittaker is the President of the Signal Foundation which she joined in 2022. Its mission is to “protect free expression and enable secure global communication through open source privacy technology.”

She was formerly the Minderoo Research Professor at New York University. She is also the founder of the Google Open Research Group and co-founder of the AI Now Institute.

About her research and focus, Meredith Whittaker looks at the social implications of AI and the tech industry responsible for it. Her particular emphasis is on the power and the political economy that drives the commercialisation of computational technology.

Meredith Whittaker worked at Google for thirteen years before taking up her position at New York University. Her time there saw her lead product and engineering teams, found Google’s Open Research Group, and co-found M-Lab. M-Lab is a globally distributed network measurement platform that provides the world’s largest source of data on internet performance. She also worked on privacy and security issues and helped provide funding, strategy, and support to efforts that provided privacy from both governments and large tech companies.

While at Google, Meredith Whittaker also helped lead labour organizing. She was one of the core organisers to push back against the company’s military contracts, their limited response to AI and its potentially harmful effects, and was a central organiser of the Google Walkout.

In the present day via Signal, Meredith Whittaker continues working with organisers in technology with the belief that collective actions are necessary to ensure meaningful tech accountability. This is especially the case with concentrated industrial power.

Meredith Whittaker has, throughout her career, advised the White House, the FCC, the City of New York, the European Parliament, and many diverse governments and civil society organizations on AI, internet policy, measurements, privacy, and security.

Meredith Whittaker – Conference Speaker

As a keynote speaker, Meredith Whittaker has a vast knowledge of all things relating to AI and its various pros and cons. She lives in the USA and presents in English. In 2024 she will be working with the European Union on the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence.

Speaker Topics

• Artificial Intelligence and Ethical Use of A.I
• Internet Policy
• Internet Privacy
• Internet Security