Computer Vision News - June 2021

33 Julie Shah now. Maybe those other concerns are multi-decade concerns. Autonomous vehicles have the potential to drastically improve the safety of our roads. Tens of thousands of people die in the US every year. Or it could make it worse! It could increase congestion. I worry about issues of access, like who has access to these technologies. There are concerns around equity. Who are they developed for? Who will benefit? Those are the questions that currently keep me up at night, and I am very grateful to the researchers and scholars who think about those longer-term questions. This interview is exceptionally long because it is fascinating. But I don’t want to abuse your time. Is this enough? It’s never enough! I am Italian: I can ask you questions until tomorrow! [ laughs ] Tell me just one thing about MIT that we don’t know. MIT has various different academic, degree, and certificate programs. The one I love most is the MIT pirate certificate through our physical education program. There is a physical education requirement. Students take different phys-ed courses through their undergrad or grad program. If students finish archery, hunting, pistoling, rifling, and sailing, they get an official MIT pirate certificate. It’s a fun place! A lot of people think of MIT as a very competitive environment. I’ve been here since I was 18. I’ve done all my degrees at MIT. I’ve chosen to stay here, time after time after time. It’s anything but a competitive environment. This is a place where if you have a question, from a freshman to a full professor, you will find a friend or a colleague who is so generous with their knowledge to help with something you don’t know or something that you’re interested in. I think it’s just a very, very special place. And maybe one indication of the specialness is that you can become a pirate at MIT! More than 100 interviews with Women in Science here!