interface (formerly SNV)

Exciting times ahead in Paris! I‘ve just arrived for the AI Action Summit, but the adventure doesn’t end there. Starting this month, I‘m joining interface (formerly SNV) as a Senior Policy Researcher in their AI team, based in Paris. I couldn’t be more thrilled to collaborate with Lisa Soder and Siddhi Pal, two brilliant AI experts, who are here for the summit - you should definitely follow their work! Also in Paris right now is our executive director Anna Wohlfarth, who is trusting me to represent interface in the French capital from now on. Thank you, Anna. In the coming days, I scheduled several bilateral meetings and will attend many of the events surrounding the summit, including the Sustainable AI Happy Hour hosted by Salesforce and HuggingFace and the Global AI Governance: Empowering Civil Society event organized by Renaissance Numérique. As I‘m starting my new role at interface, I’m looking forward to building connections with fellow AI professionals in Paris and beyond. If you‘re attending the summit, are in the area, or simply want to chat, let‘s connect and meet!

We created a new position at interface (formerly SNV) and are looking for a HR-Manager who speaks both German and English. Link below. Get in touch with Helen Brand for questions. https://lnkd.in/dvdBQB7T

Next week, government leaders and top tech executives will gather in Paris for the AI Action Summit. interface (formerly SNV) will be attending with three colleagues. Here’s what they have planned so far: Anna Wohlfarth is interface’s director and will join the heads of states dinner at the summit. Anna will also be hosting a lunch briefing for foundations and funders on the latest developments in Artificial Intelligence & EU-US relations. Lisa Soder is an expert on AI assessment and oversight and will ensure that AI companies are kept accountable to the promises they made at earlier summits. Amongst others, Lisa will be part of the Summit’s Trust Track and join a panel on the voluntary commitments of AI developers with Brad Smith, Salil Parekh, John Alexander McDermid, and Audrey Plonk. She will also contribute to events like the Inaugural Conference of the International Association for Safe and Ethical AI and roundtables on AI transparency organized at the AI Fringe. Siddhi Pal is specializing in AI talent and labour markets. She will present her global data set on the large gender gap in the AI industry. Globally, women comprise only 22% of AI talent, dropping to less than 15% at senior executive levels. Check out more data for individual countries here: https://lnkd.in/erd3jBee

After a thought-provoking week in Davos during the World Economic Forum —one panel, six roundtables— here are my key insights: 1. Walking through the lounges and houses of Davos, I was struck by the electric atmosphere of discussions about our 'Intelligent Age' and AI's reshaping of society. But something felt missing. While DEI conversations flourished in one corner, they rarely connected with the realities of business strategy. Meanwhile, debates about future skills unfolded without drawing on the vital insights that cross-generational dialogue could bring. If we're serious about tackling the intelligent polycrisis before us, we can't afford these intellectual silos. The complexity of our challenges demands nothing less than the fusion of these divided dialogues.    2. What emerged starkly from these discussions was the critical need for data-driven research to ground our conversations. At The Female Quotient panel on 'Gender Gap in the AI Talent Pool,' even an audience of self-identified allies was visibly stunned by the stark reality the numbers revealed. This moment crystallized a deeper truth: true allyship demands more than good intentions. It requires intimate familiarity with the data, coupled with the conviction to advocate, negotiate, and drive change across both business and policy spheres. [interface (formerly SNV) report linked in the comments].     3. What struck me repeatedly in conversations with CEOs and policymakers was their genuine appetite for meaningful intergenerational dialogue. The breakthrough moment often comes with a simple realization: while our vocabularies may differ, our aspirations for impact and progress deeply align. For leaders committed to building authentic cross-generational collaboration in their organizations, I am linking WAFF’s study in the comments. I cannot thank the We Are Family Foundation team enough for opening the doors to Davos during the World Economic Forum, and for introducing me to mentors like Tarja Stephens. Tarja’s mentorship was invaluable - not only in preparing me for this transformative week but in connecting me with remarkable leaders who share her vision and commitment. Big shoutout to the WAFF delegation, that made this week FUN!

My thanks to Germany in the UN, the Center for Cybersecurity Policy and Law and interface (formerly SNV) for inviting me and my fellow panelists* to speak on Threats and Vulnerability Disclosure Norms during the United Nation's Open Ended Working Group on ICT in New York last month. Ensuring that policy is informed by an accurate understanding of threats, vulnerabilities and the motivations/goals of different players in this space, is key to getting good outcomes when attempting to establish norms. Also appreciated the private tour of the UN including the Security Council room just before a session! *Emmanuella Darkwah from Ghana, Emmanuelle de Foy from Belgium, Harley Geiger from the US and Dr. Sven Herpig from Germany.

On January 15, I returned to the place, where my career started almost to the day 15 years ago: the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Philippines. While 15 years ago, I was taken in as intern, this year I was honored to be the German counterpart on a panel about the potential of German-Philippine Defense Cooperation in the cyber domain. An idea that was discussed between Germany and the Philippines in 2024 with a defense agreement to be signed soon. I explored that potential together with Francis C. Domingo and Director Christine June P. Cariño from the Office for Cyber and Information System Management, Department of National Defense. In addition to interface (formerly SNV), I also represented Political Economic Elemental Researchers and Strategists at this event. My key points were: 1. Germany and the Philippines can explore a joint talent pipeline due to the German and EU need for an increasing IT security worforce as well as the Philippines' hacker talent and experience on Oversea Filipino Worker (OFW) policy. 2. If the Philippines identifies architectural and policy requirements, Germany could share best practices and failures in its vast experience of shaping a cybersecurity architecture and policy ecosystem. 3. Germany and the Philippines could work towards intelligence exchange with a special focus on a shared adversary: Chinese threat actors and cyber campaigns. As this is an issue close to my heart, I really hope that there will be a fruitful, effective and operational cooperation between our two countries in the future. Maraming Salamat. #Cybersecurity #Philippines #China #Germany #Cyberdefense

We just put a 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲. We are hiring a (Senior) Policy Researcher in the Global Chip Dynamics Programme (m/f/d)) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯: Analyse and develop policy proposals aimed at making the global semiconductor value chain more sustainable. This role involves engagement with policymakers and stakeholders across Europe and globally to successfully balance technological competitiveness with environmental goals. Our recent work: https://lnkd.in/eyiVa7qi 🔗 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: https://lnkd.in/e-JsBNFX 📅 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: February 18, 2025 ❓ 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Ask Helen Brand at hbrand@interface-eu.org

interface's Siddhi Pal is currently at Davos to challenge Mark Zuckerberg's call for more "masculine energy" in tech and present her new data on the large gender gap in the AI industry. Thanks to the We Are Family Foundation & The Female Quotient for making this possible! Here is Siddhi's latest data on the AI gender gap in the AI workforce across the world: https://lnkd.in/e-5h6ysG