AviAI Inc. will be joining the Fall 2021 cohort of Berkeley SkyDeck Pad-13 – an aerospace accelerator run by UC Berkeley. We look forward to connecting with other excellent startups and networking with colleagues in the aerospace industry.
Author Archives: Sherri Lynn Conklin
Accelerator Acceptance: Starburst SCALE
AviAI Inc. will be joining the Fall 2021 cohort of SCALE LA – an aerospace accelerator run by Starburst Aerospace and in collaboration with UCLA. We look forward to connecting with other excellent startups and networking with colleagues in the aerospace industry.
The Past 110 Years: Historical Data on the Underrepresentation of Women in Philosophy Journals
My co-authored paper, “The Past 110 Years: Historical Data on the Underrepresentation of Women in Philosophy Journals” has been accepted for publication at Ethics and is now forthcoming. This research is a part of the Demographics in Philosophy Project: Women-In-Philosophy.org
You can find out more information about our recent work on my website.
Abstract: This paper provides the first large-scale, philosophy specific, longitudinal study examining publication rates by gender across a broad range of philosophy journals. It analyses data from the JSTOR database from 1900 to 2010. We divide our data into three distinct categories: “Top-Philosophy” journals, “Non-Top Philosophy” journals, and “Interdisciplinary” journals. The paper makes five points while providing an overview of the historical trends of women authorships in philosophy. First, since 1900, the proportion of women authorships across all types of philosophy journals has increased, but the proportion of women publishing in philosophy has plateaued since the 1990s, which counters the trends in most other fields of study. Second, Top-Philosophy journals publish the lowest proportion of women authors over time. Third, the proportion of women authorships is typically less than the proportion of US women faculty for Top-Philosophy journals but not lower ranked philosophy journals. Fourth, the proportion of women faculty in the US who specialize in Value Theory is much higher than the proportion of women authorships in Value Theory. Fifth, journals practicing different review types publish different proportions of women depending on journal category. We conclude that, although the proportion of women authorships in philosophy has increased over time, there are still measurable disparities in publication rates between men and women in different kinds of journals in philosophy.
Citation: Hassoun, N., Conklin, S., Nekrasov, M., & West, J. “The Past 110 Years: Historical Data on the Underrepresentation of Women in Philosophy Journals.” Ethics (Forthcoming).
New Job: Interim CEO Avi.AI
I was hired as the Interim CEO of a small tech startup that is developing a cloud-based SaaS platform employing a predictive algorithm (using a machine learning approach) for preventing baggage mishandling during airline transit. A major airline has funded our project, which aims to use accessible and bias-free technology to improve the human experience of travel. As the CEO, my mission is to promote an organizational culture of ethical entrepreneurship. I collaborate closely with a diverse team of PhDs with backgrounds in data science and engineering. My plan is to see this company, AviAI Inc., through the 2021-2022 accelerator cycle before returning to academia in Fall 2022.
Computer Ethics: Reshaping Society Through Technology
For the 2020 Winter Quarter, Michael Nekrasov (CS, PhD) and I co-taught a five week course, titled Computer Ethics: Reshaping Society Through Technology, in collaboration with the School for Scientific Thought (SST).
Computers make our lives easier, and, as a result, we include them in every aspect of our lives. We use them to communicate with our friends and families, to seek out entertainment, to find jobs, and for many other reasons. Because we involve computers in every aspect of our lives, we also share a great deal of information with the companies that build technology. What we share and how this highly tailored personal information is used is a topic of continuous concern and debate.
In this class we explore what these algorithms “know” about us and how they gather data. This class provides an overview of active areas of computer science including: Big Data, Machine Learning, Networking, Security, and Human Computer Interaction. Over 5 classes, we look at how technology and society interact. The class provides the skills for understanding how the technologies work as well as philosophical skills for critically engaging with these technologies.
The H-SCHIP Digital Ethics Project
The UC Humanities Research Institute Awarded UCR the $10,000.00 Graduate Student Professionalization Workshop Grant in support of the Program for Humanities Careers in Science History, Policy, and Communication [H-SCHIP]. Recently, I was invited to participate as an H-SCHIP coordinator to assist in developing proposals for publicly engaged humanities projects.
My own project, the H-SCHIP Digital Ethics Project – developed in collaboration with Chelsea Oei Kern (UCLA), aims to create toolkits for ethical engagement with technology.
The State of the Discipline: New Data on Women Faculty in Philosophy
My co-authored paper: “The State of the Discipline: New Data on Women Faculty in Philosophy” has been accepted for publication at Ergo and is now forthcoming. This research is a part of the Demographics in Philosophy Project: Women-In-Philosophy.org
You can find out more information about our recent work on my website.
Abstract: This paper presents data on the representation of women at 98 philosophy departments in the United States, which were ranked by the Philosophical Gourmet Report (PGR) in 2015 as well as all of those schools on which data from 2004 exist. The paper makes four points in providing an overview of the state of the field. First, all programs reveal a statistically significant increase in the percent women tenured/tenure track faculty, since 2004. Second, out of the 98 U.S. philosophy departments selected for evaluation by Julie Van Camp in 2004, none in 2015 has 50% women philosophy faculty overall, while only one has 50% women who are tenured/tenure track. Third, as of 2015, there is a clear pyramidal shape to the discipline: Women are better represented as Assistant than Associate and Associate than Full professors. Fourth, women philosophy faculty, especially those who are tenured/tenure track, are better represented at Non-PGR ranked programs than at PGR ranked and PGR Top-20 programs.
Citation: Conklin, S., Artamonova, I., & Hassoun, N. “The State of the Discipline: New Data on Women Faculty in Philosophy.” Ergo, 30.
Permissible-Wrong Action at Cal Poly SLO
Through the generous support of the Cal Poly SLO Philosophy Department, I was recently invited to present my talk “The Possibility of Permissible-Wrong Doing” as a part of the Graduate Research Workshop Series.
In this paper, I defend both the possibility of Permissible-Wrong Actions [PWA] – actions that are morally permissible and nonetheless morally wrong – and the philosophical utility of recognizing this possibility.
A draft of the paper is located on my Research page.
High School Ethics Bowl at UCSB
The UC Humanities Research Institute Awarded UCSB, in collaboration with UCSC, a $30,000 Engaging Humanities Grant for our project entitled “Ethics Bowl as a Platform for Educational Advancement.”
The first Santa Barbara Regional Invitational was held in May 2019 and received additional support from the UCSB Student Initiated Projects Grant, as well as the Marc Sanders Foundation MAP-NHSEB Scholarship Program. The proposal was co-authored by Jonathan Ellis, Director of the UCSC Center for Public Philosophy, and Tom Holden, former Department Chair at UCSB, along with myself for the purpose of initiating High School Ethics Bowl in the Santa Barbara area, as well as supporting UCSC’s ongoing efforts.
Sherri Lynn Conklin 