Educator conference points to future impact of AI

The term “forward-thinking” provides just a glimpse of what’s on the mind of Trinidad and Tobago-born educator Renée Cummings, who will share her insights and insights into the potential and powerful social impact of artificial intelligence in a conference on Sunday. presented by the Trinidad and Tobago Emancipation Support Committee.

In the “Decolonizing and Democratizing Artificial Intelligence” speech, part of the committee’s Kwame Ture Memorial Lecture Series, Cummings will examine the upcoming applications and potential effects of AI.

The virtual conference can be viewed at YouTube page of the Emancipation Support Committee Y Emancipation Support Committee website.

“The work that I am doing now, internationally, in data, artificial intelligence, justice and civil rights, reflects both the work of the Right Honorable Kwame Ture, formerly Stokely Carmichael, and one of the most celebrated Trinidadians in the world. finished,” Cummings said, referring to the late great Trinidadian-born American civil rights leader.

Cummings, currently an instructor in the master’s program at the University of Virginia School of Information Sciences, has carved a niche for himself in the fast-growing and futuristic field of artificial intelligence as a respected ethicist and criminologist at the University of Virginia. AI.

In his studies and research, Cummings investigates the current and future ages of artificial intelligence, its connections to the criminal justice system, “and how your data could be used as weapons against you,” he said.

Cummings designed her own undergraduate degree program at Hunter College to include political science, philosophy, media studies and creative writing, to meet her broad and unique educational interests, according to the University of Virginia School of Data Science website.

In an example of her concerns about AI during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cummings, while an A’Lelia Bundles Community Scholar at Columbia University in June 2020, gave a university talk on “how artificial intelligence is shaping the public health response to the novel coronavirus. while she recodifies the distribution of power and the administration of justice”.

Music, family fun, arts and crafts and food return as the Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival New York returns to Roy Wilkins Park at Merrick and Baisley Blvds. in Queens, on July 31, from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

There will be live entertainment, arts and crafts vendors, jerk cuisine and other Caribbean foods from area establishments. There will also be celebrity chefs and a “Jerk This Challenge” competition for hobby cooks.

Under the banner “A Taste of Jerk,” the revival of the festival, postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 precautions, marks its 10th anniversary, the 100th anniversary of event sponsor Grace Foods in business, and the 60th anniversary of the Jamaican independence.

To visit jerkfestivalny.com for information, purchase e-tickets, and a list of ticket outlets in Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island, and New Jersey.

The far-reaching and influential contributions made by people of Caribbean descent were recognized through Caribbean Life newspaper’s annual “Impact Awards,” held on July 13 at Russo’s on the Bay in Queens.

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Among the more than 30 honorees were Jamaican-born Spectrum News host, two-time Emmy Award winner Ruschell Boone, Lifetime Achievement Award winner, and Guyanese-born PCSB Bank Senior Vice President Michelle Nicholas , winner of the “Change Creation Award”.

Public and private institutions, non-profit organizations, companies, executives and members of the media were honored at the event.

For a list of awardees, visit the Schneps Media website.

Undoubtedly an American hero, Jamaican-born Sandra Lindsay, who led the nation by volunteering to be the first person in the United States to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, was one of 17 Presidential Medal recipients of Liberty, the country’s highest civilian honor. .

Biden presented the awards on July 7.

Lindsay, an ICU nurse at Northwell Health’s Long Island Health System Jewish Medical Center in Queens, became an advocate for COVID-19 vaccines “after receiving the first dose in the US outside of clinical trials”.

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