On June 6th, researcher Timnit Gebru, a global reference for challenging Google’s unethical practices in AI system development and founder of DAIR – Distributed AI Research Institute, was in Brazil for the debate “AI for the Common Good: Strengthening Alternative Systems.” The event was organized by Coding Rights, MediaLab, Lavits, and Instituto da Hora, at UFRJ, with the presence of public officials, researchers, and artists.

During the event, Joana Varon, co-executive director of Coding Rights, and Fernanda Bruno, coordinator of MediaLab at UFRJ, spoke with Timnit. The interview is now available on social media, with subtitles in English and Portuguese.

In the conversation, Timnit explained the concept of Distributed AI, provided examples of tests with federated AI models, and talked about the policy briefing “Fostering a Federated AI Commons Ecosystem,” co-authored by Joana, Timnit, and Sasha Costanza-Chock. The text was presented and approved by peer review at the T20, the engagement group of research centers in the G20, and is expected to be available on the official page in August. Timnit also mentioned the launch of the Data Workers’ Inquiry, conducted by the DAIR team.

You can watch the entire event here.