1. TechCrunch is launching a series of interviews highlighting women who have contributed to the AI revolution to give them recognition for their work.
2. Emilia Gómez is involved with the European Commission’s AI Watch initiative, focusing on monitoring and advancing AI in Europe, with a background in computational music and the impact of AI on human behavior.
3. Gómez highlights the importance of diversity in the AI field, the need for proper evaluation of AI systems, and the responsibility of AI users to understand limitations and quality of AI products.
TechCrunch is launching a series of interviews to spotlight remarkable women in the AI field whose contributions often go unrecognized. Emilia Gómez, a principal investigator at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, is involved in the AI Watch initiative. Her research focuses on computational music and explores the impact of AI on human behavior, particularly in relation to jobs, decisions, and cognitive development.
Gómez began her research in machine learning by developing algorithms for music audio signal description. She later shifted her focus to evaluating the impact of AI on human behavior. Gómez is proud of her contributions to music-specific machine learning architectures and projects like Banda Sonora Vital and PHENICX, which utilize AI for creating enriched symphonic music experiences.
In a male-dominated tech and AI industry, Gómez navigates challenges by avoiding frustration and collaborating with both men and women in the field. She encourages women to enter the AI field, emphasizing the need for diversity and the availability of support from colleagues. Gómez believes that AI research should focus on both development and evaluation to address issues like biases and ethical implications.
Users of AI-powered tools should understand the principles and limitations of AI algorithms to use them responsibly. Gómez advocates for responsible AI development, which includes thorough evaluation, assessment of social impact, and mitigation of risks before launching AI systems. Trustworthy AI, as reflected in the European Union’s AI Act, prioritizes transparency, fairness, and human oversight to build products that both innovate and protect citizens’ rights.