Ravit Dotan, PhD

Ravit Dotan, PhD

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
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About

I am an AI ethics advisor, researcher, and speaker. My specialty is leveraging AI ethics…

Contributions

Activity

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Experience

  • TechBetter Graphic

    TechBetter

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    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

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    Berkeley, California, United States

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    Berkeley, California, United States

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    Jerusalem, Israel

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    Jerusalem, Israel

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    Tel Aviv, Israel

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    Israel

Education

  • University of California, Berkeley Graphic

    University of California, Berkeley

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    Participated in courses, reading groups, and seminars on topics such as philosophy of science, epistemology, feminist philosophy, the history of philosophy, logic and philosophy of logic, coding (Python), and philosophy of machine learning.

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    Participated in courses on topics such as rationality, logic, ethics, aesthetics, the history of philosophy, theology, and game theory.

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    ► Was enrolled in an honors program, which included a scholarship for tuition.
    ► Executed quantitative research in physics and chemistry labs over the span of three years, using tools such as Matlab.
    ► Participated in courses on a wide range of scientific topics, including coding (Fortran, C, C++, Matlab), math (e.g., linear algebra, probability theory, differential equations), physics (e.g., relativity theory, quantum mechanics, waves and optics), and chemistry (e.g., organic chemistry,…

    ► Was enrolled in an honors program, which included a scholarship for tuition.
    ► Executed quantitative research in physics and chemistry labs over the span of three years, using tools such as Matlab.
    ► Participated in courses on a wide range of scientific topics, including coding (Fortran, C, C++, Matlab), math (e.g., linear algebra, probability theory, differential equations), physics (e.g., relativity theory, quantum mechanics, waves and optics), and chemistry (e.g., organic chemistry, physical chemistry).

Volunteer Experience

  • Montreal AI Ethics Institute Graphic

    Researcher and writer

    Montreal AI Ethics Institute

    - Present 2 years 10 months

    I research and write about AI ethics

  • GITA - the Global Impact Tech Alliance Graphic

    Researcher, writer, operations

    GITA - the Global Impact Tech Alliance

    - 7 months

  • MINORITIES AND PHILOSOPHY-MAP Graphic

    Co-Founder

    MINORITIES AND PHILOSOPHY-MAP

    - 4 years

    Co-founder and leader of the UC Berkeley MAP chapter, a grassroots organization advocating for minorities in philosophy.

    MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP - Organized and led a group of up to 50 diverse members at a time, including members of color, LGBTQ+, first-generation in college, immigrants, non-documented, and women (approx. 200 throughout my leadership):

    ► Procured and managed a small budget, based on grants and institutional funding ; Developed strategic plans for the group's…

    Co-founder and leader of the UC Berkeley MAP chapter, a grassroots organization advocating for minorities in philosophy.

    MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP - Organized and led a group of up to 50 diverse members at a time, including members of color, LGBTQ+, first-generation in college, immigrants, non-documented, and women (approx. 200 throughout my leadership):

    ► Procured and managed a small budget, based on grants and institutional funding ; Developed strategic plans for the group's activity and supervised their execution.
    ►Represented the group in all external-facing communications, including at institutional committees.
    ► Mentored dozens of marginalized community members, focusing on both professional development and emotional support.
    ► Supervised individual and group projects tailored for the benefit of marginalized communities.

    Main projects and accomplishments of the group during my tenure and under my direct guidance and supervision:

    ► Successfully advocated for diversifying course offerings, including procuring funding for and implementing course diversification projects.
    ► Wrote and implemented a best practices guide for inclusive teaching.
    ► Successfully advocated for increasing the representation of marginalized impacted communities at institutional committees.
    ► Advocated for institutional anti-harassment policies and improved reporting options.
    ► Designed and led workshops tailored for empowering minority community members on topics such as imposter syndrome and professionalization.
    ► Led support meetings for community members impacted by harassment and bullying, especially based on gender, sexual orientation, and religion.
    ► Designed and ran many successful inclusivity educational programs on topics such as oppression, feminist philosophy, non-western philosophy, and Black philosophy.

  • Activist

    ShePhD

    - 1 year 1 month

    Civil Rights and Social Action

    ShePhD was a grassroots organization composed of women graduate students at the Humanities faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The group met regularly to discuss issues relevant to the women in academia and organize for collective action.

    I was primarily involved with two projects:
    ► Advocating for a university-wide policy to decrease the scheduling of professional events after 3:30pm (benefiting working parents).
    ► Making information related to women in academia more…

    ShePhD was a grassroots organization composed of women graduate students at the Humanities faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The group met regularly to discuss issues relevant to the women in academia and organize for collective action.

    I was primarily involved with two projects:
    ► Advocating for a university-wide policy to decrease the scheduling of professional events after 3:30pm (benefiting working parents).
    ► Making information related to women in academia more available. For that purpose, I designed and built a website for uploading papers, literature reviews, etc.

  • TED Conferences Graphic

    Translator (subtitles)

    TED Conferences

    - Present 3 years

    I translate subtitles into Hebrew. I prioritize feminism-relevant talks and I create gender-neutral subtitles, using activist-developed resources such as The Guide for Inclusive and Gender-Neutral Writing.

    (The guide is available here https://dabrueleynu.org/%d7%9b%d7%9c%d7%99%d7%9d-%d7%a9%d7%99%d7%9e%d7%95%d7%a9%d7%99%d7%99%d7%9d/gender-inclusive-writing/).

Publications

  • Putting AI ethics to work: are the tools fit for purpose?

    See publication

  • The Proliferation of AI Ethics Principles: What's Next?

    See publication

  • Syllabus Showcase: Public Philosophy

    American Philosophy Association Blog

    Public philosophy is philosophy oriented towards the general public. In our class, titled “Public Philosophy” and taught at UC Berkeley in the Spring of 2020, philosophy majors used public philosophy to reflect on what philosophy is for them, reimagine what it could be, and explore the intersection between philosophy and accessibility. The class was structured around guest speakers who zoomed into class and student-driven discussions. Here we describe the class.

    Co-author: Claire Michael.

    Other authors
    • Claire Michael
    See publication

  • Theory Choice, Non-epistemic Values, and Machine Learning

    Synthese

    Can we choose between theories without relying on non-epistemic values, such as social and political values? I use a theorem from machine learning to support the claim that we can’t.

    You can find a free pre-print here:
    http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/17707/

    See publication

  • Collaborative Classes and Conferences: A How-To Guide

    American Philosophy Association Blog

    One of the greatest challenges in today’s classroom is increasing and diversifying student participation. I developed a format to improve participation in small classrooms, of up to 25 students. The key is making the classroom a collaborative space, by sharing authority with the students and building a community. Here I briefly describe the format.

    See publication

  • Value-laden Disciplinary Shifts in Machine Learning

    Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT)

    People often think that deep learning, the currently predominant approach in machine learning, is “objectively” better than its competitors in the sense that favoring it is politically neutral. However, we argue that the rise and fall of model types, such as deep learning, is value-laden and we reveal the social and political values implicit in favoring deep learning over its competitors.

    Co-author: Smitha Milli.

    Other authors
    • Smitha Milli
    See publication

Courses

  • Subtitle translation - Hands-on experience with Subtitle Edit, VLC, capNsub, and Ooona. The course covered translated subtitles, closed captions, subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH), and quality control (QC).

    Versio Academy

Projects

  • Public Philosophy Course

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    Public philosophy, i.e. philosophy oriented to the general public, makes philosophical content accessible to a greater audience, allowing people from diverse backgrounds to better understand what philosophy is and benefit from it. Public philosophy can also empower those who create it, especially students from marginalized backgrounds, who are more inclined to feel disconnected from the traditional topics and modes of engagement.

    I worked with an undergraduate student to create a public…

    Public philosophy, i.e. philosophy oriented to the general public, makes philosophical content accessible to a greater audience, allowing people from diverse backgrounds to better understand what philosophy is and benefit from it. Public philosophy can also empower those who create it, especially students from marginalized backgrounds, who are more inclined to feel disconnected from the traditional topics and modes of engagement.

    I worked with an undergraduate student to create a public philosophy course, tailored for minority students. In the course, philosophy majors, most of whom were minority students, used public philosophy to reflect on what philosophy is for them, reimagine what it could be, and explore the intersection between philosophy and accessibility. The class was taught by the student and was featured on the blog of the American Philosophy Association (link below). Due to its success, the course was taught a second time the following year.

    My work included:
    ★ Designing and developing the class with the student.
    ★ Supervising and mentoring the student as they taught the class.

    American Philosophy Association article about the class:
    https://blog.apaonline.org/2020/10/21/syllabus-showcase-public-philosophy-claire-michael-and-ravit-dotan/#:~:text=Ravit%20Dotan%20is%20a%20graduate,during%20the%20Spring%20of%202020.

  • Urban Scholars

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    Urban Scholars was a non-profit organization promoting formerly incarcerated and veteran students through education, primarily designed to promote Black members of this group. Urban Scholars put together cohorts of students from its target population who attended local community colleges. The cohorts were supported through taking classes at UC Berkeley by arranging for their enrollment and providing them with mentorship, laptops, and academic resources.

    My support of Urban Scholars…

    Urban Scholars was a non-profit organization promoting formerly incarcerated and veteran students through education, primarily designed to promote Black members of this group. Urban Scholars put together cohorts of students from its target population who attended local community colleges. The cohorts were supported through taking classes at UC Berkeley by arranging for their enrollment and providing them with mentorship, laptops, and academic resources.

    My support of Urban Scholars included:
    ★ Three cohorts of Urban Scholars were enrolled in my classes. I met with them regularly outside of class, both individually and in groups, to go over the material, work with them on assignments, work with them on academic skills, etc.
    ★ I advocated for Urban Scholars at the department, increasing their visibility and creating more opportunities for them.
    ★ I supported the program administratively, helping them strategize and organize.

Honors & Awards

  • Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award

    UC Berkeley, Philosophy Department

    Awarded to about 9% of all graduate student instructors university-wide.

  • Teaching Effectiveness Award

    UC Berkeley

    Awarded to about 0.5% of all graduate student instructors university-wide.

  • William Fink Prize in Philosophy

    UC Berkeley, Philosophy Department

    Awarded for the best paper by a philosophy graduate student in that year. Awarded for the paper "Theory Choice, Non-epistemic Values, and Machine Learning".

  • Graduate Fellowship

    The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Center for the Study of Rationality

    Research funding for four years. Awarded yearly to about five graduate students university-wide.

  • Presidential Honors Program

    Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Graduate Division

    Research funding for four years. Awarded yearly to about ten graduate students in humanities at HUJI.

  • Yael Cohen Award

    The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Philosophy Department

    Awarded to one philosophy graduate student every year for distinction in research.

Languages

  • English

    Native or bilingual proficiency

  • Hebrew

    Native or bilingual proficiency

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