AI Researcher Named to Harvard's Berkman-Klein Center Fellowship Program

A Georgia Tech researcher will continue to mitigate harmful post-deployment effects created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) as he joins the 2024-2025 cohort of fellows selected by the Berkman-Klein Center (BKC) for Internet and Society at Harvard University.

Upol Ehsan is the first Georgia Tech graduate selected by BKC. As a fellow, he will contribute to its mission of exploring and understanding cyberspace, focusing on AI, social media, and university discourse.

Entering its 25th year, the BKC Harvard fellowship program addresses pressing issues and produces impactful research that influences academia and public policy. It offers a global perspective, a vibrant intellectual community, and significant funding and resources that attract top scholars and leaders.

The program is highly competitive and sought after by early career candidates and veteran academic and industry professionals. Cohorts hail from numerous backgrounds, including law, computer science, sociology, political science, neuroscience, philosophy, and media studies. 

“Having the opportunity to join such a talented group of people and working with them is a treat,” Ehsan said. “I’m looking forward to adding to the prismatic network of BKC Harvard and learning from the cohesively diverse community.”

While at Georgia Tech, Ehsan expanded the field of explainable AI (XAI) and pioneered a subcategory he labeled human-centered explainable AI (HCXAI). Several of his papers introduced novel and foundational concepts into that subcategory of XAI.

Ehsan works with Professor Mark Riedl in the School of Interactive Computing and the Human-centered AI and Entertainment Intelligence Lab.

Ehsan says he will continue to work on research he introduced in his 2022 paper The Algorithmic Imprint, which shows how the potential harm from algorithms can linger even after an algorithm is no longer used. His research has informed the United Nations’ algorithmic reparations policies and has been incorporated into the National Institute of Standards and Technology AI Risk Management Framework.

“It’s a massive honor to receive this recognition of my work,” Ehsan said. “The Algorithmic Imprint remains a globally applicable Responsible AI concept developed entirely from the Global South. This recognition is dedicated to the participants who made this work possible. I want to take their stories even further."

While at BKC Harvard, Ehsan will develop a taxonomy of potentially harmful AI effects after a model is no longer used. He will also design a process to anticipate these effects and create interventions. He said his work addresses an “accountability blindspot” in responsible AI, which tends to focus on potential harmful effects created during AI deployment.