Alex Engler will guide us through the question of how data science for the common good is being harnessed and supported in Germany and the USA
Data science has been heralded as one of the most important tools in helping us to understand the massive amount of data generated by the motions of our modern lives. However, many of the popular use cases of data science are focused on profit-generating corporate problems, from fraud detection to recommendation systems and predictive analytics for marketing purposes. How can we use data science to make a positive impact on our society and the environment? That is the question that Alex Engler, Stiftung Mercator Senior Fellow, Fulbright-Schuman Scholar, and Visiting Researcher at the Hertie School, will tackle, by looking at how data science for the common good is being harnessed and supported in Germany and the USA. He will also discuss the opportunities available and what it takes to embark on this career path. This is part of the Meet the Data Scientists event series, organised by the Hertie School Data Science Lab.
About the speaker
Alex C. Engler is visiting Berlin as a Fulbright-Schuman Innovation Scholar and Stiftung Mercator Senior Fellow. Under these fellowships, he studying the overlap of data science and governance in Germany. Engler is on leave from the Brookings Institution and Georgetown University, where he studies the governance of artificial intelligence. Engler previously ran the University of Chicago’s M.S. in Computational Analysis and Public Policy and earlier designed Georgetown University’s M.S. in Data Science for Public Policy. Engler was a senior data scientist at MDRC, where he helped launch the Center for Data Insights, and was the Urban Institute’s first data scientist, where he helped to start the Office of Technology and Data Science.
Alex Engler explores Europe’s and Germany’s role in the emerging world of AI governance. Specific research topics include the alignment between Germany’s, the EU’s, and international approaches to AI regulation; the ecosystem of data science for social good in Germany; and the role of Europe in global discussions on militarized applications of AI.
