Conversation with Dr. Susama Agarwala
It was a pleasure to have Dr. Susama Agarwala back at the school today for a Conversation. Susama was an active volunteer at the school in 2009 and 2010 when she was a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University. She went on to work in academia both here and in Europe before entering into other parts of the private sector including her current work in AI.
The Conversation started as a followup to the documentary Social Dilemma that the students watched several months ago. It focused on the development of social media platforms and the algorithms used to both entice and increase the amount of time people spend on those platforms. Susama explained how the algorithms work and walked the students through several exercises to analyze them and their use. This way the students can be more aware of how to use social media wisely. Susama also shared about the challenges that women of color experience in the tech industry. It was a very informative Conversation and we are eager to have her return for Part II.
Thank you Susama! Wonderful to have you back at TCS!