UC Santa Cruz neuroscientist Dan Turner-Evans will spend the 2024-25 academic year in Washington, D.C., providing expertise to lawmakers as they develop federal policies on artificial intelligence (AI) as part of the rapid-response cohort of Science & Technology Policy Fellows chosen by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
AAAS assembled this cohort last spring to help inform lawmakers about the political, social, cyber, and economic impacts of AI on the nation and world. Starting on September 30, Turner-Evans will work with the majority on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, focusing on energy-related technologies and the use of AI in areas that fall under the subcommittee's purview.
An assistant professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology at UC Santa Cruz, Turner-Evans has led an interdisciplinary career. He worked on solar-energy research for his Ph.D. in applied physics before switching to neuroscience. As a neuroscientist, Turner-Evans has been intimately involved with advances in understanding both biological and artificial intelligence.
In addition to scientific research, he also sees policymaking as a way to affect positive change in society. In regards to AI, Turner-Evans says he is particularly concerned about the amount of energy needed to train and run machine-learning models, the bias built into these models, the general lack of understanding about how they work, the impact that they will have on jobs, and the compelling “deep fakes” that they can rapidly generate.
"As my understanding and exposure to AI has grown, so too has my concern about its societal impact. AI holds incredible promise for advancing science and boosting worker efficiency but is not without risks," he said. "It is essential that policymakers understand these concerns along with the enormous potential of AI and craft policy that mitigates the risks while maximizing the positive impact of this transformative new technology."
Turner-Evans also has years of experience educating and engaging with policymakers in this area. As a postdoc, he co-founded two policy outreach groups: Scientists for Progress in Northern Virginia (SPrNoVA), which supports congressional candidates who advocate for evidence-based policy making, and Zero Carbon Virginia, which works to educate state policymakers on issues around climate change and renewable energy, while advocating for legislation that would transition the state away from fossil-fuel use.
