_Hello.

_{My name is Erica. I am a mom, technologist, and cybersecurity expert. While studying for my Master’s in Science, I discovered a deep passion for the topic of implicit bias, especially where it arises in artificial intelligence.}

_{Having completed my capstone on this topic I decided to dive deeper and the result is this blog.}

_{I hope you will come along with me as we discovered which algorithms and artificial intelligence systems we all use every day are, in fact, biased against Blacks, women, and other minorities.}

_{We will also dive into the sources of these biases and investigate methods to mitigate both the bias and the harm.}

_{My Story}

_{For years I have recommended cybersecurity to everyone who comes to me for career advice. After my baby was born it seemed the right time to put my money where my mouth was.}

_{Why it seemed like the right time, I have no idea!}

_{But I persevered and completed my Master’s of Science in Cybersecurity in May. Graduating right into the pandemic.}

_{So, for now, I’m a stay at home mom and using my spare minutes to continue my research into the ways implicit bias arises in technology.}

_{When I’m not taking care of the toddler or working here, you’ll find me planning my next great escape; a yearlong “sail” around America’s Great Loop in my catamaran. That is assuming I survive the winter maintenance season which includes the fun jobs of removing and also reinstalling the head (read toilet).}

_{My Goals and Vision for this site:}

_{To identify instances of bias in artificial intelligence products we all interact with regularly.}

_{To develop tools and methods to minimize bias and mitigate harm from biases existing in these algorithms.}

_{To encourage developers and users of AI technologies to critically examine biases within themselves and the products they take pride in developing and using.}