Posner has headed multiple initiatives to promote diversity in technology before being hired as the CEO of the non-profit organization AI4ALL, a position from which she stepped down in 2021 to concentrate on her music career.[2][3][4] Her work has earned recognition including her selection as one of the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics in 2020.[5]
Early in her career, Posner built and ran Samsa School, a non-profit organization providing low-income people worldwide with tools and education to find work in the digital economy. Then, she became the managing director of TechHire at Opportunity@Work, a White House initiative that sought to increase diversity in the technology industry.[7] In 2016, Posner was selected as a fellow at the Institute for the Future.[8]
Posner then joined non-profit organization AI4ALL as their CEO and executive director.[9][10] AI4ALL provides AI education and mentorship particularly towards historically underrepresented talent.[2][11][4] In the years she served as CEO, AI4ALL saw over 15,000 young people participate in the organization's AI education and mentorship programs.[12] Posner has spoken at SXSW, Grace Hopper Celebration, Nvidia GPU Technology Conference, and further conferences about artificial intelligence and technology diversity and outreach.[13][14][15]
She is listed as a coauthor in Vint Cerf and David Nordfors's 2018 book The People Centered Economy: The New Ecosystem for Work.[16]
In an online statement published in October 2021, Posner announced that she would step out of the role as CEO of AI4ALL into an advisory role to pursue her music career full-time.[3] Emily Reid took over her role at the start of 2022 as interim CEO.[17]
Music
Posner is also an alt-pop music artist. She released her first EP in 2018 and released new singles in 2020.[18][19]
Selected awards and recognition
2019 – VentureBeat Women in AI Award: Responsibility and Ethics Winner[20]
2019 – Alconics Awards AI Innovator of the Year Finalist[21]
2020 – 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics Hall of Fame Honoree[5]
^ abPosner, Tess (November 3, 2021). "Singing A New Song". AI4ALL. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
^ abSmiley, Lauren (May 23, 2018). "The Future of AI Depends on High-School Girls". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 19, 2022. They hired Tess Posner, who had led initiatives aimed at getting more diversity into the digital economy, to be the CEO.
^ ab"Hall of Fame". 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics™. Retrieved July 22, 2021.