CV of Jessica Woodgate
University of Bristol
Bristol
United Kingdom
jessica.woodgate@bristol.ac.uk
Current Computer Science Ph.D. student at the University of Bristol. Passionate about the impact of technology on society, I believe research is the best way to make meaningful contributions to this area. My research interests are in AI Ethics and Normative Multiagent Systems, specifically how ethical principles can be applied to reasoning capacities used to resolve multiple-user social dilemmas that occur in Sociotechnical Systems (STS) in satisfactory ways.
Education
Ph.D. Computer Science, University of Bristol, UK
November 2022 - May 2027
- Building models implementing normative ethical principles in reasoning about values and norms
- Conducted a survey of the operationalisation of normative ethical principles in computer science research
- Assist in organising Data Ethics Club, including writing blog posts and facilitating discussions
M.Sc. Computer Science (Conversion): Distinction, University of Bristol, UK
September 2020 - January 2022
- Dissertation was an analysis of how ethical principles in AI and Computer Science literature can be applied to multiple-user social dilemmas in sociotechnical systems
Continuing Professional Development
July 2018 - September 2020
- Formulated a strategic plan to equip myself with the skills necessary to make an effective contribution to the safety and integrity of AI technology advancements
- Extensive reading into AI, AI ethics and the evolution of the AI industry, arranging consultations with industry experts such as the EMEA CTO of VMWare, analytics managers at Aviva, lawyers specialising in technology law, AI Ph.D. candidates, and researchers at Microsoft
B.A.(Hons) Philosophy: Upper Second-Class Honours 68.5%, University of Sheffield, UK
September 2015 - July 2018
- Led a winning team research project competition in ethical decision making for resource allocation
GCE A2, The Henley College, Henley-on-Thames, UK
September 2012 - July 2014
- English Literature (A*), Psychology (A*), Classical Civilization (A)
GCSE, Gillotts Comprehensive School, Henley-on-Thames, UK
September 2006 - July 2011
- Mathematics (A*), Physics (A*), Biology (A*), Chemistry (A), English Language (A*) English Literature (A*), French (A*), Art and Design (A), History (A), Religious Studies (A*), Information Technologies (Distinction)
Academic Experience
Research Assistant, University of Bristol
January 2022 - November 2022
- Published a Blue Sky paper from the findings of my M.Sc. dissertation suggesting research directions for the application of normative ethical principles to multiple user social dilemmas. Expanded the systematic literature review conducted in my M.Sc. dissertation to incorporate a wider array of literature
Research Project, University of Bristol
September 2021 - January 2022
- Critically analysed ethical principles in computer science literature, and how they can be applied to multiple-user social dilemmas within a socio-technical system
Publications
Jessica Woodgate.
Ethical Principles for Reasoning about Value Preferences.
Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Society (AIES),
Student Track, Montreal, August 2023, pages 972-974.
Jessica Woodgate and Nirav Ajmeri.
Macro Ethics for Governing Equitable Sociotechnical Systems.
Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS),
Blue Sky Idea Track, Auckland, May 2022, pages 1824--1828.
Jessica Woodgate and Nirav Ajmeri.
Principles for Macro Ethics of Sociotechnical Systems: Taxonomy and Future Directions.
arXiv preprint. August 2022.
Professional Service
July 2023 - current
- Assist with organisational and administration tasks related to facilitating the seminar series.
January 2023 - current
- Author blog posts summarising reading related to data ethics and the discussions had surrounding them. Facilitate discussion and contribute to administration tasks
March 2024
Consultant, AI Ethics for Journalists, The Thompson Foundation
April 2023
- Advised development of course on AI ethics for journalists, providing critical feedback on course content and structure
PC Member, AAMAS
December 2022
Student Volunteer, IJCAI, Vienna
August 2022
- Assisted in organising the IJCAI 2023 conference. This included ensuring sessions ran smoothly and speakers were supported, setting up rooms, and helping with registration. I had the opportunity to expand my network and learn about current directions of AI research
Awards
Funding to attend AIES
August 2023
- Awarded 1300 USD from AIES and 750 GBP from SAP (Society for Applied Philosophy) to attend and present my work at AIES.
Academic Projects (all available on Github)
SCRUM Leader, Database Lead, Back-End Co-Developer, Left Unread (Module: Software Engineering and Group Project)
February 2021 - May 2021
- SCRUM team leader ensuring regular effective meetings, sprint goals set and met, all team members were supported, user impact was addressed in the sort and long term, and ethical framework was adhered to
- Led database development and co-developed back-end development including building the API, and ensuring other back-end developers stayed on track
Developer, STAG (Module: Object-Oriented Programming with Java)
June 2021
- Built a general-purpose socket-server game-engine for text adventure games in Java
Developer, DB (Module: Object-Oriented Programming with Java)
March 2021
- Built a relational database server from scratch in Java