Bio
Sabeehah Mahomed is a Researcher for Ethics & Responsible Innovation in the Turing’s Public Policy Programme. She currently works across projects on the ethical and responsible design of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. These include researching and analysing the context of children’s rights as they relate to AI through a series of engagements with schools across Scotland as well as projects with the UK’s Office for Artificial Intelligence and the Council for Europe.
Sabeehah holds an MSc in Digital Humanities (distinction) from the Department of Information Science/Studies at University College London (UCL). Her master’s thesis focused on public awareness and perception of racial bias in AI systems, which was presented at the 'Ei4Ai' (Ethical Innovation for Artificial Intelligence) Conference in July 2020, hosted by UCL and University of Toronto. Sabeehah also has a postgraduate Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree (Cum Laude) and a BA Degree (distinction) from the University of South Africa and University of Johannesburg.
Research interests
Sabeehah's main interests lie in the ethical governance and innovation of AI systems, data privacy & protection, and using technology for social good. She brings an interdisciplinary academic background with a keen focus on the humanities, human rights, and societal issues particularly for vulnerable, marginalised and minority groups.
Prior to joining the Turing, she conducted fieldwork research within the Somali migrant community in South Africa focusing on social dynamics as it relates to religion, integration, and international relations. This was later published by the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD). Sabeehah also has experience in entrepreneurship, business, and education where she established a Mathematics education centre in South Africa, providing quality education to over 2000 students for 7 years and creating employment for over 40 individuals.
Achievements and awards
- Winner, UK Women of The Future Award, Commonwealth Category, sponsored by AVIVA and KPMG | 2021
- UK Emerging Leaders Cumberland Program Certificate | 2020
- UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office Chevening Award & Scholarship to pursue her MSc Degree (top 3% of 50,000 applicants) | 2019
- International Youth Summit Lahore conference award on peace, culture, and inclusive societies | 2018
- US Young African Women Leaders, YALI & Meridian Alumni with former First Lady, Michelle Obama
A selection of appearances and talks:
- Children & AI Mission, Interviewed by P5/6 children at St Mary’s school in Edinburgh as an ‘AI Expert’ on artificial intelligence and children’s rights, 31 January 2023
- Children & AI Workshops, assisted with facilitating multiple online investigator workshops with P5/6 learns from 4 schools from across Scotland on AI & children’s rights, November 2022 - February 2023
- Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) Webinar, Speaker on “Women in Leadership: Africa” , 1 December 2020, https://folorunsoalakija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Media-Release-Women-in-Leadership-Africa.pdf
- Ethical Innovation for Artificial Intelligence (EI4AI) Conference, Presenter on ‘Racial bias in AI’ at “AI Governance Workshop”, 27-28 July 2020, https://ei4ai.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/agenda-for-ai-gov-workshop-final.pdf
