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Alondra Nelson
Photo via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Alondra Nelson

Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study; architect of the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights

Alondra Nelson is a sociologist of science and technology who served as deputy assistant to the US President and acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where she led the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights (2022). She holds the Harold F. Linder Chair at the Institute for Advanced Study.

University profileias.edu
#AI policy#science and technology studies#AI ethics

Key arguments & positions

  • Argues AI policy belongs in the civil-rights tradition: the question is what protections people are owed when automated systems act on them.
  • Holds that social-science expertise has to be inside technology policy, not consulted after the fact.
  • Argues public participation is a requirement of legitimate AI governance, not a courtesy.

Accomplishments

  • Led the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights (2022) as acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
  • Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study, where she leads the Science, Technology and Social Values Lab.
  • Author of The Social Life of DNA (2016) and Body and Soul (2011); contributor to the International AI Safety Report.

Papers & key writings

Links

In the library

FreeDocument
Technology & Ethics

Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights

Five plain-language protections people should expect from automated systems — safe systems, protection from discrimination, data privacy, notice and explanation, and a human alternative — each with a section on what organisations should do.

From the site: Among the great challenges posed to democracy today is the use of technology, data, and automated systems in ways that threaten the rights of the American public. Too often, these tools are used to limit our opportunities and prevent our access to critical resources or services. These problems are well documented. In…

Why I recommend it: Led by Alondra Nelson at the White House science office in 2022. It was never binding and has since been removed from whitehouse.gov, so this link goes to the official archive — still the clearest short statement of what people are owed.

#ai ethics#ai-ethics#framework#free#policy#reading#regulation#technology-and-ethics
The White HouseAdded Sep 19, 20260 opens

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