Kay Firth-Butterfield (US)

Kay Firth-Butterfield is a barrister, former judge and one of the world’s foremost authorities on the governance of artificial intelligence. She is CEO of Good Tech Advisory and a TIME Impact award recipient, recognised for more than a decade of shaping global thinking on responsible technology. Combining a legal career with leadership roles in academia, business and international organisations, Kay offers a rare perspective on how humanity can benefit from emerging technologies.

Beginning her career as a Barrister-at-Law in England, Kay’s experience on the bench and in legal practice gave her an insight into technology governance through both regulation and case law. She moved to the United States, working as a Professor focusing on human rights and human trafficking, and through this research published a book, the final chapter of which examined the interaction between humans and intelligent machines.

Kay later became the world’s first Chief AI Ethics Officer, working at an AI startup in Texas, creating an ethics advisory panel, and helping staff to navigate the responsible development of their product. With a short time she had become a leading figure in responsible AI and was recruited by the World Economic Forum (WEF) to establish and head its AI and Machine Learning platform. Over six years with the WEF she convened teams from business, civil society, government and academia to produce guidelines and other tools for organisations seeking to build a responsible technology culture in AI, technology and quantum computing.

Kay led the WEF’s AI work at meetings worldwide, including Davos summits, and convened the Global Future Council on AI in Dubai and the Global AI Council, chaired in rotation by leaders from Microsoft, IBM and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Projects she spearheaded included the AI Board Toolkit, AI C-Suite Toolkit, Quantum Computing Governance Principles, the Smart Toy Awards, procurement frameworks for AI by government, ChatbotRESET, FireAID, and guidelines on AI in supply chains and human resources. She continues to advise international bodies on technology governance and is a member of the Forum’s Global Future Council on AI, its AI Governance Alliance and its Advisory Board on Digital Healthcare. She also holds positions with organisations including UNESCO’s International Research Centre on AI and AI4All. Across her work Kay helps leaders understand both the promise and the risks of emerging technologies, and how to embed ethical principles at the heart of innovation.