Welcome.
My name is Megan. I’ve been working in AI and machine learning startups for over three years. My work experience has been in tech, business, startups, etc. but I didn’t start there.
In 2015, I was a Philosophy graduate with a freshly minted master’s degree. Since then, my theoretical interests have formed into two coalescent areas:
Methodology. I enjoy comparing theoretical (i.e. technical, operational, scientific, etc.) methods to how things are done in reality. Like a good machine learning algorithm, I collect data and infer a function. Or, perhaps, in the beginning, I was more like a statistics model (i.e. starting with a theory and applying it to data). I wrote my master’s thesis on the methodology of science (Title: Robust objects in William Wimsatt’s Methodology of Science). This approach circulates throughout much of my thought. I am also learning computer science on the side.
Ethics. Science is limited. Science can help us answer questions that are empirically verifiable. But what about what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’? Ethics can help us answer this question. I want to explore the relationship between methodology and ethics – not just to speculate, but to actually put something into practice. No armchair philosophy here. Understandably, Existentialism has had a special influence on me. I’ve spent many summers researching the writings of Kierkegaard at my alma mater, St. Olaf College.
Now you know a bit about me.
I’m planning to release regular articles about my startup experience and how I see different theoretical ideas working within that world. I want to share my ground-level experience and make some ideas more accessible. I want to hear your thoughts, too.
The ultimate purpose of these articles is to get people to think. I want to give people a space where they can abstract away from the day into deeper thought and awareness of what they are doing. I want to give your life more color, whether you are from the startup world or not.
At the moment, there is a problem with AI ethics and the business world. There’s no point of connection, no conversation, no common language. There are many people shouting ideas, pushing their own agenda, trying to make a quick buck, shouting more, and nothing really changing (or changing, but for the worse).
These articles are intended to help steer the conversation in the right direction. I’m not sure where it will lead but I hope you’ll share with me.
If you wish to partake in this journey, please watch this space for future writing. Otherwise, good luck to you. And remember:
“Live dangerously.”
- Nietzsche
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