Mrs Dessislava Sergueeva Fessenko

I am an applied ethicist and a lawyer. I teach ethics of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence at University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education, as well as responsible AI governance at other programmes. I have also developed courses in data ethics in healthcare and in ethics of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital privacy in healthcare at Harvard Medical School's Center for Bioethics. Outside of teaching, I advise public and private organisations on the ethics, law and governance of data and AI. 

What brought me to ethics of data and AI was my work on digital technologies. They all incorporate algorithms or AI to process vast amounts of data. As these components touch so many aspects of our lives, I had to understand their functioning and impact better. Some of the questions that you probably have now, I had back then. They led me to explore the ethical and social implications of data and AI. I also wanted to know how to tackle these implications. So I enrolled in a master’s programme in bioethics at Harvard Medical School. My studies naturally led to further research work and eventually to teaching. This course in ethics of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence at University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education is my favourite to teach as each session spurs vivid intellectual discussions and experience-sharing with and among students.