AST Celebrates Black History in Tech: Highlighting Dr. Latanya Sweeney
Data, Privacy & Uncovering Hidden Bias
This week, we are highlighting Dr. Latanya Sweeney.
Dr. Sweeney is a powerhouse in the world of data privacy and technology, with a career that has redefined how we secure and test our digital systems.
As the Daniel Paul Professor of the Practice of Government and Technology at the Harvard Kennedy School and a member of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, she leads groundbreaking initiatives like the Public Interest Tech Lab and the Data Privacy Lab.
With a career spanning roles such as former Chief Technology Officer at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Distinguished Career Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Dr. Sweeney has authored over 100 academic publications and holds three patents. Her work has introduced the concepts that not only shaped industry practices but also influenced key regulations, including HIPAA, GDPR —and launched the emerging area of algorithmic fairness while being the first to spotlight technology challenges in U.S. elections.
She earned her PhD in computer science from MIT in 2001 as the first Black woman to do so, following her undergraduate studies at Harvard. Her hard work and dedication to the field has earned her several accolades such as the Louis D. Brandeis Privacy Award and the American Psychiatric Association's Privacy Advocacy Award.
Today, her innovative work continues to address critical societal, political, and governance issues by developing technology tools to strengthen elections, analyze social media platforms, and establish new privacy paradigms—all while pioneering the promising field of public interest technology.
Latanya Sweeney’s groundbreaking research on algorithmic bias and data privacy has redefined what it means to build trustworthy systems. Her work challenges us to ensure that our testing and quality practices consider data privacy factors and also account for ethical considerations.
Read more on her amazing work here: