TheBridge profile: Merve Hickok
Name: Merve Hickok
Current city: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Current job: AI Ethicist, www.aiEthicist.org and Management Analyst, High Sierra Industries
Past job: VP of HR for College Diversity Recruitment & HR Technologies at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Director of Sales for JW Marriott Ankara
Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? Anywhere that has delicious coffee
Q. Describe how a skill you learned in a previous job helped you in your current job.: My previous work on diversity recruitment and HR technologies helped me better understand the issues that under-served and disadvantaged students face (whether it is access to resources, bias or privacy) and the importance of making connections and listening to others' stories.
My work at a social enterprise focused on learning systems for individuals with disabilities taught me never to assume any ability or capacity, and to respect neurodiversity.
They both definitely shaped my advocacy efforts on both AI ethics and implications of AI bias on social justice.
Q. Job advice in three words? : Listen, Ask, Reflect
Q. How are you (or your company, org, nonprofit) currently bridging the gap between politics and tech / innovation and regulation?: Working to advocate for ethical, responsible, transparent and explainable AI and algorithms that are used across all domains of life (admissions, credit, welfare, recruitment, criminal justice...). I believe in privacy and human autonomy to be basic human rights and work to ensure that the data collected and the way it is used is not negatively impacting individuals and communities.
aiEthicist.org is an effort to create a global repository of reference material that advocates, researchers and students can use to educate themselves as well as follow the latest developments. I work via the website, speaking engagements, webinars/workshops to bring together a diverse group to discuss the social impact of algorithms and best practices to reduce bias, and govern algorithms internally & externally. Technology can be regulated without slowing down innovation if all parties truly have a mission towards society.
Q. What can innovators learn from policymakers? : Listening to different perspectives, evaluating the wider picture and debating intended & unintended consequences of any innovation / change on society...that breaking things is not always the best way to move forward. The more diverse your circle becomes and you see the implications of your work, the higher the chances are that your work becomes more inclusive.
Q. What can policymakers learn from innovators?: Innovators' existence depends on coming up with new ways of doing things, testing them and disrupting the old ways. They are passionate about what they do and usually experts in their subject matter and do not allow failures to stop their efforts. Policymakers can learn how to be tenacious, to iterate and improve.
Q. Favorite book/podcast/long-form article you recommend?: Otto Scharmer, Katrin Kaeufer: Leading from the Emerging Future: From Ego-System to Eco-System Economies
Peter Senge: The Fifth Discipline
Podcast: SuperSoul Sunday by Oprah
Q. Everyday is probably different, but can you describe a "day in the life" of your job?: My job requires me to work with every single department in the organization and discuss opportunities for better business & operational processes and controls. I spend the first couple of hours preparing for the day's meeting, and usually have 3 face-to-face meetings a day. The times I have in between are usually spent on project management, or doing research on the projects. Evenings & weekends are reserved for my AI and Ethics research, or facilitating workshops/webinars on the subject. My website content at www.aiEthicist.org is updated weekly, so I spend a lot of time reading research and news on impact of AI on society.
Q. Best advice you’ve received? "A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor." If you really care about what you do, you should expect stormy and stressful times, and crashes and failures but also trust that resilience and perseverance will see you through the storm - and you will be better at what you are doing for it.
Q. Last time you were completely unplugged? When I was in Big Island, Hawaii a few months ago with my husband. We spent most of our time scuba diving, reading and taking walks. My tablet was stolen on one of the first days so we raided a second-hand bookshop. It was great to be back in the ocean for half of every day and in company of my favorite person and my books the other half.
Q. Morning routine? Coffee. Read my book for about an hour, and read the news for another hour before having breakfast; and read/reply to chat messages from my family and friends overseas
Q. If you had to live in another city, which would it be? I had the opportunity to live in Istanbul and London for long years and loved the pulse and history of both of them. They are both amazing cities to live in and hard to leave behind. However, that other city in the future was Ann Arbor, Michigan for us, which is an amazing college town. Recently we had the opportunity to relocate back to Ann Arbor and are now slowly settling in and enjoying the nature and what the town has to offer.
Q. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself in the beginning of your career? Do not be shy talking to people you admire and asking for mentoring. I learned how important that is a few years into my career and never stopped asking for insights and perspectives since then. I also try to be the person I wish I had around back when I was in the beginning of my career, so I have been mentoring tens of young people officially and unofficially for more than a decade now. One of the best things I do with my time. My career has also been one of embracing unexpected opportunities. Every single time management saw me in a role in which I had no previous experience but one which challenged me to learn new skills and develop new ideas. I always say “get out of your comfort zone, keep asking and learning, and never allow your definition of yourself to limit your opportunities.”
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