TheBridge profile: Kay Firth-Butterfield
Name: Kay Firth-Butterfield
Current city: San Francisco, CA
Current job: Head of AI at World Economic Forum
Past job: Chief AI Ethics Officer at World Economic Forum
Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? Wherever my colleague feels most comfortable.
Q. Describe how a skill you learned in a previous job helped you in your current job. I spent time as a Professor of Communication - active listening is the most important part of communication!
Q. Job advice in three words? What’s your purpose?
Q. How are you currently bridging the gap between innovation and regulation? We work on governance of AI. This is governance with a small 'g' so everything from self governance to legislation. We help guide policy making around the world. The Forum brings together multi-stakeholder teams to co-create projects which are then piloted and scaled globally. Our aim is to address the negatives of AI (and tech) and elevate ethical approaches.
Q. What can innovators learn from policymakers? Moving fast and breaking things might make you a lot of money in a few cases, but sometimes it leaves society in a mess; policy makers have a role to ensure we live in a place that is fit for not only current citizens but our children and beyond.
Q. What can policymakers learn from innovators? Innovators have to think outside of the box, policy makers rarely do. Policy makers need to be aware of what they need to learn - innovators can, without arrogance, help them.
Q. Favorite book/podcast/long-form article you recommend? Tuesday Next series by Jasper Fforde - inventive, funny and totally original.
Q. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself in the beginning of your career? At the start of my career I would have told myself that a career can and should be an adventure which takes advantage of your skills and challenges you to new successes and areas of interest.
Q. Most underrated virtue in an employee? Active listening and speaking only when they have something of value to add.
Q. If you had to live in another city, which would it be? Austin Texas, I love its tech sector and the still 'weird' Austin feel!
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