Dr. Ebrahim Tarshizi Takes on a New Role as Co-director of the Center for Digital Civil Society
We interviewed Professor of Practice, Ebrahim Tarshizi, PhD, MBA, USD's program director for the MS in Applied Artificial Intelligence and MS in Applied Data Science programs. Dr. Tarshizi was recently named co-director of the Center for Digital Civil Society (CDCS) and we asked him to discuss the technical expertise that he brings to the center and his vision for expanding the services and resources offered to the communities it serves.
Q: What is the primary, overarching goal that the Center for Digital Civil Society would like to achieve?
A: First, it is very exciting to work with other departments, centers and programs to foster a more equitable, transparent and ethical digital world. One of our main goals is to provide resources and educational content such as workshops, seminars and presentations and facilitate research, open discussions and engaging dialogue among experts and students regarding the challenges and complexity of integrating data science and artificial intelligence (AI) advancements into modern society. We want to empower citizens to further understand the digital landscape and the significance of data biases, security, transparency, rights and so on. We will provide a wide range of services and activities for USD undergraduates, graduates, faculty, staff and the outside community.
Q: As the new co-director of the Center for Digital Civil Society, what expertise do you bring to the center?
A: As the new co-director of the Center for Digital Civil Society, I bring multifaceted expertise in artificial intelligence and data science topics, supported by a commitment to ethical considerations in AI and the digital domain. My strategy is to work closely with my expert colleagues, particularly our Co-director, Hannah Holtzman, PhD, and use my technical knowledge and bridges she has built with the campus community to implement the CDCS’s mission. We know the campus, USD programs and centers very well, and my focus and area of specialization is an ideal combination with Dr. Holtzman’s. Connections and dialogues between the CDCS’s technical and non-technical audience with our graduate students in Applied Data Science and Applied Artificial Intelligence are important, and I will facilitate this connection by organizing and offering the AI and Data Science Graduate Student Seminar Series.
Q: What collaborations has the Center for Digital Civil Society engaged in outside of the campus community?
A: Our vision is reaching beyond our campus interdisciplinary collaboration. Outside of the university, we are involved with communities such as San Diego Tech Hub and also with other initiatives such as the Data Science Alliance. We will continue to reach further into the community, including not-for-profit and civil organizations, academic institutes, policymakers, and industry partners, by fostering the dialogue around the CDCS’s mission. The other priority is to work closely with our advisory council members and bring different ideas and regularly report back to the stakeholders about our conducted activities and outputs. This will help us ensure that we are aligned with the goal and vision of the CDCS.
Q: What comes next?
A: We are going to prepare a comprehensive strategic plan and set short-term objectives to be assessed yearly. We will have to work towards fostering a digital world, especially with AI and data science advancements, that is ethical and aligned with human values. Future collaborations with colleagues in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Center for Educational Excellence, the Humanities Center and Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, as well as our planned educational programs, can help us to define and draft this strategic plan to eventually have the CDCS play an important role for the entire campus and USD’s mission.
— Story by Michelle Sztupkay