AI4 Society Seminar | Sarah Cen

Abstract: The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, particularly general-purpose models, has spawned a complex, interdependent ecosystem of AI organizations as well as their models, datasets, tools, compute, and more. We refer to this network of dependencies as the AI supply chain. In this talk, we will discuss the origins and implications of the AI supply chain, as well as recent projects on (1) mapping the supply chain and its dependencies, (2) tracking how properties in the AI supply chain are propagated, and (3) exploring the legal ramifications of the AI supply chain. Time permitting, we'll also discuss recent AI policy discussions around third-party AI auditing and AI taxation. ‍

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Sarah H. Cen is an assistant professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. Cen’s research lies at the intersection of machine learning, statistics, economics, law, and public policy. Her recent work includes projects on AI audits, AI supply chains, social media regulation, algorithmic fairness, causalinference under network interference, individual rights in the age of AI, and procedural due process for AI-driven decisions.  She was previously an HAI postdoctoral researcher at Stanford, jointly affiliated with Stanford Law School’s RegLab and the Department of Computer Science, working with Daniel Ho and Percy Liang.Cen earned her Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, advised by Aleksander Mądry and Devavrat Shah; a master’s in robotics at Oxford University with Paul Newman, where she worked on autonomous vehicles; and a BSE in mechanical engineering at Princeton with Naomi Leonard, where she studied control systems.