Israeli scientist joins UN panel tasked to secure a safe digital future
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Israeli scientist joins UN panel tasked to secure a safe digital future

Dr. Kira Radinsky is member of task force co-chaired by Chinese e-commerce billionaire Jack Ma and Melinda Gates

By TOI staff and AP 14 July 2018, 9:47 am 2 Edit
Kira Radinsky, voted by MIT Technology Review one of 35 innovators under 35, is winner of the Technology Pioneer Award. Photo: Flash90
Kira Radinsky, voted by MIT Technology Review one of 35 innovators under 35, is winner of the Technology Pioneer Award. Photo: Flash90

Israeli scientist Dr. Kira Radinsky has been named as a member of a high-level panel established by the United Nations to make recommendations on ensuring “a safe and inclusive digital future,” it was announced Friday.

The panel, made up of 20 members, will be co-chaired by Chinese e-commerce billionaire Jack Ma and Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Gates foundation.

In a statement, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon hailed the appointment.

“We welcome the selection of Dr. Radinsky to join the panel and are proud that a groundbreaking and pioneering scientist will represent Israel at this important forum,” said Danon in a statement.

“Radinsky is at the forefront of global technology and has made exceptional achievements, and we are confident that she will contribute greatly to the panel’s activities and to the promotion of international cooperation in technology,” he said.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a news conference Thursday that he sees the United Nations “as a unique platform for dialogue in our digital age” and the panel as an expert group to make proposals to strengthen international cooperation.

In Guterres’s words: “As a global community, we face questions about security, equity, ethics, and human rights in a digital age. We need to seize the potential of technology while safeguarding against risks and unintended consequences.”

Radinsky is eBay’s director of data science and chief scientist in Israel.

The 32-year-old was born in Ukraine and immigrated to Israel at the age of four. She began studying at the Technion at age 15, and completed three degrees at the Faculty of Computer Science.

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