In this opening session of our fall series with Data & Society, social scientist Alice E. Marwick hosts a grounding conversation about how AI technologies are reshaping daily life with artist Mimi Ọnụọha, journalist Meredith Broussard, and computer science professor Suresh Venkatasubramanian.

This event will take place online and in person at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on the 7th Floor.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping many aspects of our daily lives: from the way people are hired for jobs, to how housing applications are reviewed, to how government services are delivered in healthcare, education, and beyond. But while organizations of all kinds have been introducing AI systems into their core functions, there is uncertainty about how they are working — including who is on the receiving end of their benefits and harms. What do we need to know about AI and automated decision-making tools today? How can we better understand the technology’s influence, and make informed decisions about where and how to use it?

To join the event in person | Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

To join the event online | Whether you're attending in person or online, you must register with your email address.The Zoom link will be sent to you by email approximately one day before the event. You will need a device with audio and/or video and an internet/cellular connection to join.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Alice Marwick is the director of research at Data & Society. She is a qualitative social scientist who researches the social, political, and cultural implications of popular social media technologies. Her most recent book, The Private is Political: Networked Privacy on Social Media (Yale 2023), examines how the networked nature of online privacy disproportionately impacts members of marginalized communities.

Meredith Broussard is a data journalist and professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University, research director at the NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology, and the author of several books, including More Than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech and Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World.

Mimi Ọnụọha is a Nigerian-American artist whose work questions and exposes the contradictory logics of technological progress. Through print, code, data, video, installation, and archival media, Ọnụọha offers new orientations for making sense of the seeming absences that define systems of labor, ecology, and relations.

Suresh Venkatasubramanian is a professor of data science and computer science at Brown University, where he directs the Center for Tech Responsibility. His current research interests lie in algorithmic justice, and more generally the impact of AI and automated decision-making systems in society. Under the Biden-Harris administration, he served as assistant director for science and justice in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he co-authored the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.

COMING UP IN Understanding AI 

Part II: Environmental Costs of AI are Surging - What Now? | September 23, 2025 at 6:30 PM

REGISTER | Researcher Tamara Kneese speaks with environmental justice researcher Sanjana Paul and critical social scientist Jasmine McNealy about the environmental toll AI development is taking on local water supplies, energy systems, and communities around the world.

Part III: Reorienting AI for the Public Interest | October 29, 2025 at 6:30 PM

REGISTER | Data & Society Executive Director Janet Haven hosts a critical discussion about AI accountability and the public interest, featuring professor Charlton McIlwain, journalist Julia Angwin, and civic technologist Catherine Bracy.

Part IV: Standing Up for Human Value in the AI Economy | November 20, 2025 at 6:30 PM

REGISTER | In this closing session, D&S Labor Futures Program Director Aiha Nguyen talks with AI Now Institute Co-Executive Director Amba Kak, Michelle Miller, Director of Innovation at the Center for Labor and a Just Economy, and Writers Guild of America East Executive Director Sam Wheeler about the value of human labor in increasingly automated workplaces.

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES

In-Person

• Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue.


• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.


• This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

Livestream

• Captions and a transcript will be provided.


• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail templateaccessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

CONNECT WITH US

Don't have a New York Public Library card? Get one here!

Sign up for our e-newsletters to stay up to date on upcoming events and Library offerings.

Please submit all press inquiries to Connor Goodwin at least 48 hours before the event: email connorgoodwin@nypl.org.

SUPPORT THE LIBRARY

The New York Public Library's free services and resources are made possible thanks to the support of the Friends of the Library. Join this group of Library lovers and take advantage of special membership benefits, like invitations to members-only virtual events, discounts at the Library Shop, and more. Join now.

Understanding AI is a collaboration with Data & Society, an independent nonprofit research and policy institute. Data & Society studies the social, political, and economic implications of data-centric technologies, automation, and AI, and uses that knowledge to inform and shape policy from the ground up. Learn more at datasociety.net.

All programs are subject to change or cancellation. All programs are subject to recording and photography. The 7 Stories Up Series at SNFL is made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).