Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

As technology becomes more embedded in our lives, the fear of a big data takeover is becoming even more tangible. Recent headlines, including those reporting on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in racially biased algorithms, “deepfakes” that are indistinguishable from reality and fatal accidents involving self-driving cars, have only contributed to these fears. Many of these stories, however, do not include ways non-tech people can gain agency over their data. As a practicing data scientist and AI developer since 2013, Rumman Chowdhury is no stranger to the problems with tech. However, her optimism about the good it can do—in identifying cancer cells, for example, or helping you clean your apartment—has led her to focus her career on bringing humanity to data and including everyone in the process. Instead of sitting on the sidelines as bystanders to the techpocalypse, Chowdhury encourages both companies and consumers to take an active role in recognizing the real-world problems that perpetuate bad algorithms, instilling a moral compass in our tech. Chowdhury has been recognized as one of Silicon Valley's 40 under 40, one of the BBC's 100 Women and is a fellow at the Royal Society of the Arts. She is currently the global lead for responsible AI at Accenture Applied Intelligence, where she works with c-suite clients to create cutting-edge technical solutions for ethical, explainable and transparent AI. Come calm your fears about our data-driven future with Rumman Chowdhury as she joins INFORUM to break down how we can all work to shape AI for the better. This conversation will be moderated by Moira Weigel, a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard Society of Fellows and a founding editor of Logic magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day and on the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Avshalom Weinstein, the co-founder of Violins of Hope, will discuss the work of Violins of Hope, a collection of over 70 violins played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. Weinstein and his father, who are brilliant violin makers and restorers, have devoted 20 years to locating and restoring the lost violins of the Holocaust, as a tribute to those who were lost, including 400 members of his own family. Weinstein, who assists his father in his Tel Aviv studio and has his own workshop in Istanbul, is sponsored by San Francisco's Violins of Hope, an organization which aims to address the root causes of hatred and bigotry and to promote healing and bridge building in response to contemporary issues. MLF ORGANIZER Celia Menczel NOTES MLF: Middle East Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a brand new year of political insight and discussion! We will discuss the biggest, most controversial and sometimes the surprising political issues with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil and have a good sense of humor. Our panelists will provide informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, and we'll have audience discussion of the week’s events and our live news quiz! And come early before the program for our members social (all attendees welcome). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With an election year looming, trade wars with China and other countries impeding economic progress, health care remaining in flux, housing problems and governmental gridlock continuing on, what does all of this mean for your business, your investments and the overall economy for 2020? Join us for a lively discussion on where the U.S. and global economies are headed and what should be done to keep them on track. NOTES This event is underwritten by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jackie Fielder is challenging State Senator Scott Wiener in this year's November election. She'll sit down with us to talk about what she would do differently if her campaign is successful. Fielder is a Native American, Mexicana, and queer educator and organizer. She has been involved in the battle against the Dakota Access Pipeline, advocated for a public bank in San Francisco, and campaigned against police policies she saw as dangerous. She was handpicked by Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza to be Garza's successor leading a class on "Race, Women, and Class" at San Francisco State University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1940, Engla Schey, the daughter of Norwegian immigrants, took a job as a low-paid attendant at Anoka State Hospital, one of Minnesota’s seven asylums. She worked among the 12,000 Minnesotans who were called inmates and shamefully locked away under the label “insane.” Susan Bartlett Foote tells of Schey's campaign to reform the deplorable conditions of mental institutions and of the politicians and other civic leaders who made her crusade for forgotten souls a success, breaking the stigma of shame and silence surrounding mental illness, publicizing the painful truth about asylums and building support among citizens. The result was the first modern mental health system, which catapulted Minnesota to national leadership and empowered families of the mentally ill and disabled. Though their vision met resistance, the accomplishments of these early advocates for compassionate care of the mentally ill hold many lessons that resonate to this day, when debates about what to do about the homeless and the mentally ill are chilling reminders of our shameful past. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By combining the latest scientific research and more than 20 years of medical practice, Rachel Carlton Abrams will give you a body roadmap for you to easily find greater health and joy within your body and your life. She will explain how to find and listen to your body’s “yes” as a guide to choosing a life your body will love. She will guide you through exercises that help you listen to your own innate body intelligence—the subtle and not-so-subtle signals that your body uses to communicate with you. When we listen to our body intelligence and enter into the right relationship with ourselves, she says, we have the foundation to cultivate the right relationship with others and with the natural world. Research shows that our personal relationships and our connection to nature have an enormous impact on our health. Lack of connection may increase many health risks, including all chronic diseases (heart disease, diabetes, depression, anxiety and even cancer). Abrams will teach you a method to find your way back to the right relationship with the important people in your life—whether finding the connections you crave or setting the boundaries that keep you safe. You will learn about your deep and abiding connection to the natural world and how you can reimmerse yourself in the healing and calming power of nature. She says we are not separate from nature, and its impact on us is physically and emotionally profound. Abrams has written five books on integrative and holistic approaches to health, relationships and sexuality. She is a much sought-after speaker who integrates the latest science with ancient wisdom to help you heal and finally discover true lasting health. MLF Organizer: Adrea Brier MLF: Health & Medicine This event is the latest in our member-led forums’ Art and Science of Well-Being series. ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language ** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Higher education today faces a host of challenges, from quality to cost. But too little attention gets paid to a startling fact: Four out of ten students who start college drop out. The situation is particularly dire for black and Latino students, those from poor families, and those who are first in their families to attend college. David Kirp outlines the scale of the problem and shows that it's fixable. We already have the tools to boost graduation rates and shrink the achievement gap. Many college administrators know what has to be done, but the dropout rate still hasn't decreased for decades. Ironically, it's schools like City University of New York and Long Beach State that are making the most progress at getting more students a better education and a diploma. Kirp relies on vivid, on-the-ground reporting, conversations with campus leaders, faculty and students as well as cogent overviews of cutting-edge research to identify institutional reforms. These reforms include using big data to quickly identify at-risk students, getting them the support they need, and applying behavioral strategies (from nudges to mindset changes) that have been proven to work. MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julian Guthrie shares the untold story of four dynamic women, Magdalena Yesil, Mary Jane Elmore, Theresia Gouw and Sonja Hoel Perkins, who helped shape the tech landscape of Silicon Valley. Through grit and ingenuity, these trailblazers rewrote the rules and conquered the challenges of working in a male-dominated venture capital industry. Hear more about their personal stories as we celebrate the achievements and relentless perseverance of these extraordinary women. In association with Santa Clara County Library District, Santa Clara County Office of Education, the San Jose Public Library and DeAnza College. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rick Wilson built his career as a star Republican political strategist. But following Donald Trump’s ascendancy during the 2016 campaign, the lifelong conservative became a vocal critic of the new Republican Party. His Twitter feed and columns for The Daily Beast give his followers a hilarious and refreshing take on national politics. In his new book, Running Against the Devil: A Plot to Save America from Trump, Wilson gives Left-leaning and anti-Trump voters a guidebook to win again in 2020. As a conservative strategist against Trump, Wilson critiques what he sees as Democrats’ inability to run the campaign and candidate needed to beat Trump. Wilson analyzes the damage that Trump has done and predicts the prospective damage Trump could bring in the next four years. Drawing on his plethora of political experience, Wilson exposes the tactics that brought Trump to victory in 2016—and the tactics that he will use again in 2020. Throughout Running Against the Devil, Wilson gives Democrats the tools to avoid the impending catastrophe of Trump’s 2020 victory. In this way, Wilson provides essential and much-needed advice for progressives, conservatives and civic participants to change the course of America’s future. ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language ** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices