“You’ll fall behind if you don’t innovate quickly, disrupt your industry, and disrupt yourself,” says Dr. Gemma Galdon Clavell, Founder & CEO of Eticas.
An Algorithmic Auditor, Ethics Oversight, and Policy Analyst, Dr. Gemma is an ingenious scientific pioneer who has become a leading voice on technology ethics and algorithmic accountability.
Let’s find out how she started her Journey
According to Gemma, Eticas wasn’t planned. While her Ph.D. opened many doors for her, it also limited Gemma’s chances of staying in Spanish academia. Gemma’s technical insight was not well received at the Sociology Department where she worked, and her Department saw her ability to attract funds and projects as an unwelcome subversion of the status quo, so eventually, Gemma was invited to leave academia and take a project with her.
Initially, Eticas was a “vessel” for those projects, and Gemma only started thinking strategically about the possibilities of the organization after 2016. Since then, the road has been rough, and while Gemma is at a delightful spot, having to build an organization without any entrepreneurial experience has broken her several times.
The impact of her Ph.D. led her to start an organization to work exclusively on tackling the opportunities and challenges of technological innovation. Initially as a university spin-off, soon after as a stand-alone organization to cater to the growing demand for an emerging field: the legal, social and ethical impact of data-intensive technologies.
Coming this far is a significant achievement for her, and she is proud and grateful that she made it to a point where Gemma genuinely enjoys what she does.
Triumph over Challenges
Building an organization without any entrepreneurial experience had Gemma through a rough patch for quite a while.
“I’m grateful that I’ve also had lots of people support me and help me in the process, and I’ve been lucky to be raised by powerful women who have shown me what it means to get things done and to persist,” says Gemma. “Also, more recently, being appointed an Ashoka Fellow was also fundamental to me finding a space to thrive and other social entrepreneurs who are building businesses focused on impact and have been able to help me come to terms with being an entrepreneur and understanding the trade and knowing where and how to seek help,” she added.
The Journey to Success
Dr. Gemma is responsible for leading the management, strategic direction, and execution of the Eticas vision. Her multidisciplinary background in data-intensive technology’s social, ethical, and legal impact allows her and her team to design and implement practical solutions to data protection, ethics, explainability, and bias challenges in AI.
“I have conceived and architected the Algorithmic Audit Framework, which now serves as the foundation for Eticas flagship product, the Algorithmic Audit,” says Dr. Gemma.
An A.I Author: Dr. Gemma Galdon Clavell
Dr. Gemma’s academic work has been published in Science and Public Policy, Information Policy, Ethics and Information Technology, Citizen Science Theory and Practice or Urban Studies, and in leading academic publishers such as Routledge, Springer, and Sage.
World’s 1st Algorithmic Auditing Company: Eticas
Eticas is the world’s first algorithmic auditing company, having worked for major players in both public and private. Major international institutions, like the UN, the European Commission, the OECD, or the InterAmerican Bank Development Bank, have already trusted Etica’s audits and oversight of ethical and responsible use of their technology.
Founded in 2012, it has been concerned with protecting people and their rights in technological environments since its inception. From video surveillance and customs controls to the gender and age gap in digital environments, in 2021, it made its algorithm audit methodology public as part of its mission to make better technology exist for a better world, consolidating itself as a world reference in carrying out algorithmic audits.
“We are a foundation, with a consulting branch, with a mission to protect people in technological processes,” says Gemma.
Furthermore, through Eticas Foundation, takes part in and leads different initiatives that try to raise awareness of the need to monitor and demand transparency in the use of algorithms and automated decision-making systems, such as the Observatory of Algorithms with Social Impact (OASI), a registry of algorithms that are impacting the lives of citizens around the world.
Eticas Under Gemma’s Leadership
Underneath Gemma’s leadership, Eticas has forged the development of a new market in digital ethics and trustworthy AI, reaching all verticals, including social services, healthcare, finance, government, education, cybersecurity, and more.
“I have been recognized as a leading voice in policy circles, advising international organizations such as the OECD, EU FRA, the UN, or the European Parliament on issues related to applied ethics and responsible AI,” assures Dr. Gemma.
“I’m lucky that my job allows me to focus on the things I think I’m best at, and my main responsibility is the strategic direction of the organization, but also working with the team and being on top of all processes, so my responsibilities are very transversal. And, of course, I hold ultimate responsibility for everything that goes on at Eticas, which is a huge responsibility but also a colossal pride,” expresses Dr. Gemma.
A Key Note: Especially for Women
“When starting a company, one of the essential points is being mindful of the disadvantages of different social groups, especially as a woman. I needed to prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type and afford equal employment opportunities to employees, consultants, and freelancers regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, or any other characteristics. I am committed to identifying these behaviors and their early signs and taking decisive action before they become an issue. Eticas is a safe space for women,” asserts Dr. Gemma.
Dr. Gemma’s Note Toward a Bright Future
According to Dr. Gemma, our vision is a world where technology promotes justice and equality. Currently, the IA market is unfair, inefficient, unaccountable, and dangerous. We seek to disrupt it by showing that technological innovation that is aware of its context and the society it impacts is the only innovation worth promoting. Where today there is a need for growth, speed, and off-the-shelf solutions, we want to prove that the best AI is customized, accountable, and socio-technical.
But we also want to contribute to a better world beyond impacting the market and innovation dynamics. As reporting on algorithmic failures reminds us, algorithmic bias always has implications for the most vulnerable or under-represented. Current AI dynamics are hindering societal efforts toward equality and non-discrimination. Decades of steps to ensure fairness are being undermined by technologies promoting bias and discrimination. Audits are the equivalent of seatbelts to the automotive industry -a solution not required by cars to run but a crucial part of how society and motor innovation have negotiated and established trust. After penicillin, seatbelts are the most relevant life-saving innovation of our era. With the proper support, AI audits can be the most significant contribution to equality for the next 100 years.
