Ottley appointed for UN panel on artificial intelligence
Alvitta Ottley specializes in human-computer interaction and data visualization
Alvitta Ottley, associate professor of computer science & engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, has been appointed to the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence (AI), established within the United Nations (UN).
Ottley is one of 40 members selected by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) from more than 2,600 global candidates after an independent review by the International Telecommunications Union, the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies and UNESCO, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Described as the first fully independent global scientific body dedicated to bridging the knowledge gap in AI and assessing its real-world economic and social impacts, the panel will provide rigorous, independent assessments to help inform global decision-making on AI — and ensure governance keeps pace with rapid technological change. Members will serve three-year terms.
Ottley’s research focuses on designing personalized and adaptive visualization system, including information visualization, human-computer interaction, visual analytics, individual differences, personality, user modeling and adaptive interfaces. Her team uses interdisciplinary approaches to support decision-making in various domains, such as health communication, intelligence analysis and scientific discovery.
She received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Research Initiation Initiative (CRII) award in 2018 for using visualization to support medical decision-making, the NSF Career Award for creating context-aware visual analytics systems, and the 2022 EuroVis Early Career Award. In 2021, she was named among the 1,000 inspiring Black scientists in America by Cell Mentor.
Ottley joined the Department of Computer Science & Engineering in 2016. She earned a doctorate and a master's in computer science from Tufts University in 2016 and 2013, respectively, and a bachelor's in computer science from State University of New York at Plattsburgh in 2010.