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Join us for the first of a special ALOUD series on AI, where we take a compelling look into the interaction between young people and AI systems, exploring subconscious perceptions and the significant effects of AI on youth mental health and development.
ALOUD on Ideas is an ongoing series that will take a thematic look at subjects that are particularly relevant to our time. This season, ALOUD presents Navigating the AI Maze: Investigating Artificial Intelligence in Our Lives: A Three-Part Series curated by Avriel Epps, aimed at demystifying Artificial Intelligence, exploring its multifaceted impact on both society at large and our individual well-being.
Curator and Featured Speakers:
Dr. Avriel Epps
Dr. Avriel Epps (she/they) is a computational social scientist and a PhD candidate in Human Development at Harvard. Her work, supported by The Ford Foundation, The MacArthur Foundation, and the National Center on Race and Digital Justice, delves into how bias in predictive technologies affects adolescent racial, gender, and sociopolitical identity development. As an educator, she has taught and designed courses on subjects like Digital Privacy, Data Science Ethics, and Adolescent Development. Avriel also co-leads AI4Abolition, an organization dedicated to increasing AI literacy and building open-source AI tools for marginalized communities. Her scholarship has not only appeared in academic journals and handbooks but has also reached wider audiences through publications like The Atlantic and the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary TikTok, Boom. Recently, she completed her Ph.D. at Harvard University in Education with a concentration in Human Development and will begin her tenure as Assistant Professor of Fair and Responsible Data Science at Rutgers University in the Fall of 2025.
Kashyap Rajesh
Kashyap Rajesh, a high school Senior from Chicago, serves as the Global Chapter Coordinator for Encode Justice, a global movement of youth dedicated to championing a responsible, conscientious, and ethically governed AI ecosystem. Working with over 60 community-level chapters, Kashyap helps organize AI literacy workshops at local high schools, craft innovative legislation, provide testimonies at congressional hearings, and research emerging AI trends and their broader societal impacts. Beyond his role at Encode Justice, Kashyap is an advocate for youth mental health as the Inaugural Youth Advisor on the Vernon Township 708 Community Mental Health Board, a governmental agency he led a successful campaign to establish in the fall of 2022.
Sneha Revanur
Sneha Revanur is the 19-year-old founder and president of Encode Justice, an international organization that has mobilized youth for safe, equitable AI since July 2020. Born and raised in San Jose, California, she is also a second-year at Williams College. Most recently, Sneha was the youngest participant at a private White House roundtable on AI with Vice President Harris and was the youngest named to TIME's list of the 100 most influential voices in AI.
Brendesha Tynes
Brendesha Tynes, Ph.D., is a developmental and educational psychologist whose transdisciplinary research focuses on critical digital literacy, the design of digital mental health interventions, and the impact of online race-related experiences. She is currently a professor of education and psychology at the University of Southern California and the founding director of the Center for Empowered Learning and Development with Technology. Recipient of numerous research awards, fellowships, and funding, she conducted the National Survey of Critical Digital Literacy, the first longitudinal study on critical digital literacy skills.
