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Mutale Nkonde

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mutale Nkonde
Nkonde in 2021
Born
Zambia
EducationLeeds Metropolitan University
Columbia University
OccupationsJournalist, AI policy researcher
Children2
AwardsNew York Emmy Award (2021)

Mutale Nkonde is a Zambian journalist and artificial intelligence policy researcher. She founded the nonprofit, AI for the People, aimed at increasing the amount of Black voices in tech[1] and reducing algorithmic bias.

Early life and education

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Nkonde was born in Zambia and raised in the United Kingdom.[2] She later lived in Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan.[2] Nkonde studied in the neurology department at Leeds Metropolitan University for three years before completing a B.Sc. with honors in sociology.[3][4] She earned a M.A. in American studies from the Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.[5] Nkonde is pursuing a Ph.D. in digital humanities as a Harding distinguished postgraduate scholar at University of Cambridge.[6]

Career

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Mutale Nkonde is the founder and chief executive officer of AI for the People, a nonprofit organization that promotes equity in technology and public policy. [7]Before this, she helped introduce the Algorithmic and Deep Fakes Algorithmic Acts, in addition to the No Biometric Barriers to Housing Act, to the U.S. House of Representatives. She is currently a Visiting Policy Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute.[8] She started working in politics during the Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign.[2] Nkonde worked as the director of labor of Bill Lynch Associates.[2] She later founded the management consultancy firm, Nkonde & Associates.[2] She has contributed to public discussions on ethical AI governance and algorithmic accountability through nonprofit and policy work.[9]

Following the publication of Weapons of Math Destruction in 2016, Nkonde began researching algorithmic bias.[10] She co-authored the 2019 article, Advancing Racial Literacy in Tech with Jessie Daniels and Darakhshan Mir. Nkonde founded AI for the People, a nonprofit advocating for the reduction of algorithmic bias.[10] It supported the drafting of the "Algorithmic Accountability Act" introduced by Yvette Clarke to the United States House of Representatives in 2019.[10][11] In 2019, Nkonde became a fellow at both the Harvard Law School Berkman Klein Center of Internet and Society and the civil society lab at Stanford University.[12][13] In 2021, she won a New York Emmy Award for her storytelling efforts on a news segment covering facial recognition.[12] In 2024, Nkonde supported the development of the AI policy platform of the Congressional Black Caucus.[6]

Personal life

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Nkonde and her husband separated in 2010.[2] As of 2014, Nkonde resided in Brooklyn with her two sons.[2]

References

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  1. ↑ Davis, Dominic-Madori (23 February 2024). "Women in AI: Mutale Nkonde's nonprofit is working to make AI less biased". TechCrunch.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Arinde, Nayaba (2014-05-15). "Mutale Nkonde: Super mom, aspiring international community builder". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  3. ↑ "Mutale Nkonde | AI for the People". AI for the People | Tech Justice for Black Futures. 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  4. ↑ Hamm, Nia (2015-07-08). "Against All Odds: Economic Inequities for Black Women Cripple Communities". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  5. ↑ "Mutale Nkonde". The Data Science Institute at Columbia University. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  6. 1 2 Shepherd-Brierley, Zara (2024-05-15). "10 Black Women Making Waves in AI". UrbanGeekz. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  7. ↑ Nkonde, Mutale (2019). "Automated Anti-Blackness: Facial Recognition in Brooklyn, New York". Harvard Journal of African American Public Policy. 20 (30–26): 8 – via Proquest.
  8. ↑ Davis, Dominic-Madori (2024-02-23). "Women in AI: Mutale Nkonde's nonprofit is working to make AI less biased". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  9. ↑ "Mutale Nkonde on how the funding community can realize anti-racist futures". Ford Foundation.
  10. 1 2 3 Davis, Dominic-Madori (2024-02-23). "Women in AI: Mutale Nkonde's nonprofit is working to make AI less biased". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  11. ↑ Captain, Sean (2023-11-27). "Responsible AI is Good for Business, says Advocate Mutale Nkonde". Worth. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  12. 1 2 "Mutale Nkonde Bio" (PDF). United States Congress. 2022. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
  13. ↑ "Mutale Nkonde | Center for Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity". ccsre.stanford.edu. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
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