Data Science Lecture Series: Maximizing Human Potential Using Machine Learning-Driven Applications
Lecture | September 19, 2014 | 1:00-2:30 p.m. | Sutardja Dai Hall, Banatao Auditorium
Speaker: Vivienne Ming, Chief Scientist at Gild
Sponsors: Berkeley Institute for Data Science, Data, Society and Inference Seminar
The elusive quest to identify and place skilled professionals has become an obsession in the talent wars of the tech industry (not to mention in schools from K though Postdoc). Respected companies such as Google have applied enormous resources to predicting the best developers and managers, and yet they also periodically acknowledge the shortcomings of their existing methodology (e.g., no more brainteasers). We will discuss the concept of continuous passive-implicit assessment, applied to both learners and professionals, from kindergärtners to (future) CEOs. Building cognitive models using unstructured data and ubiquitous sensors allows the assessment not only of concept mastery, but meta-learning development as well (e.g., "Grit" and "Social-Emotional Intelligence"). Such models can then be used to predict which content will be an effective learning experience for a given learner, identify ad hoc cohorts for collaborative learning, and access the value added across educational institutions.
Dr. Vivienne Ming, named one of 10 Women to Watch in Tech in 2013 by Inc. Magazine, is a theoretical neuroscientist, technologist, and entrepreneur. She is Chief Scientist at Gild, an innovative startup that builds better companies by unleashing human potential in their work-force using machine learning. Dr. Ming also co-founded her own cutting-edge startup, Socos, which applies cognitive modeling to create adaptive, personalized educational technology. She is a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley's Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, pursuing her research in cognitive prosthetics, and in her free time, Dr. Ming explores augmented cognition using technology like Google Glass. One such project has been the development of a predictive model of diabetes to better manage blood glucose levels. She sits on the board of StartOut and Our Family Coalition, and speaks on issues of LGBT inclusion and gender in technology, recently receiving the State Farm Good Neighbor Award from Equality California. She lives in Berkeley with her wife and their two children. Her work and research have received extensive media attention including the New York Times, NPR, Nature, O Magazine, Forbes, and The Atlantic. Please visit: http://www.vivienneming.com/