Avriel Epps
AI4Abolition

Personal Bio

Avriel Epps is a computational social scientist and PhD candidate at Harvard, specializing in the impact of bias in predictive technologies on human development. With an M.S. in Data Science from Harvard and support from the Ford Foundation and National Center on Race and Digital Justice, Avriel's research examines the impact of algorithmic design on youth beliefs. Formerly a visiting research fellow at Spotify and an ed-tech founder, she's worked with Google, TikTok, and various institutions on issues of algorithmic fairness. She has published in academic and popular outlets, including The Atlantic, and is featured in the PBS documentary "TikTok, Boom."

Project Description

AI4Abolition is dedicated to dismantling algorithmic injustice and countering systemic biases through education, research, advocacy, and technological innovation. We prioritize transformative justice and technological expertise to center marginalized groups and develop and deploy reparative AI. We offer workshops, seminars, and resources, clarifying AI's complexity and biases to the public. We focus on supporting schools, grassroots, and community groups, ensuring those most affected by AI harm gain this critical knowledge. Collaborating with academic and research institutions, we advance critical AI studies, championing fairness and transparency. Technologically, we develop open-source tools to promote abolitionist practices such as our flagship tool, JusticeGPT. Our collective efforts with tech activists and allies aim to build just AI systems, advocating for a future where AI can be a liberatory rather than oppressive force in the world.