Founding Members

is an Associate Research Scholar, and Project Manager of TIP (The Integration Profile) in the Faith & Work Initiative at Princeton University’s  Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education of Princeton University.  Nicoleta started her business career in banking.  Her recent work has focused on religion/spiritual-based motivations and behaviors, altruism and our inclination to interact socially, and the significant changes in the workplace as a result of the introduction of AI.  Nicoleta is an economist and a theologian and received her Ph.D. in 2014 from the Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration (IDHEAP), Switzerland.

is the founder and Executive Director of the American Muslim Empowerment Network (AMEN) at the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS).  She also serves as a Board Member of the Faith Action Network and on the Steering Committee of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network.  A graduate of the University of Oregon Honors College and  Harvard Law School, Aneelah became a partner in a law firm and General Counsel of a healthcare IT company.  Since leaving her legal career six years ago, Aneelah has served as a community activist, interfaith leader, and justice advocate.

is an Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at University of Washington and the Principal Research Data Scientist at KenSci, an Artificial Intelligence in healthcare-focused company in Seattle. He has published over 50 research papers in the fields of machine learning and artificial intelligence and computational social science. Muhammad Aurangzeb graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a Bachelors in Computer Science and holds the PhD in computer science from the University of Minnesota.

is a computer scientist and the founder of Skillspire, an education startup headquartered in Bellevue that offers technology boot camps for immigrants, refugees and women, largely taught by part-time instructors who work in technology.  Yasmin was an early visionary member of MAPS and remains active in leadership there. She is also a member of AI&F’s board of directors.

is Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Seattle Pacific University. He formerly taught and served as research director at a leading university in Honduras. His work focus includes e-government and e-learning.

is a Research Associate at the Human-Robot Interaction Lab at Tufts University and also a lecturer in the Computer Science Department there.  His work at Tufts focuses on the ethical evaluation and design of AI systems for interactive contexts, including how moral norms will shape how social robots are judged. Thomas is an author and co-author of numerous peer-reviewed articles on AI ethics and human-robot interaction, as well as a co-author of “Ethics for Psychologists: A Casebook Approach.”  He holds a bachelors of arts degree in classics and philosophy from Stanford University, and a masters of theological studies from Harvard Divinity School. He is nearing completion of his PhD dissertation for Harvard’s Committee on the Study of Religion.

leads the Language and Information Technologies Team of scientists and engineers at Microsoft Research Technologies, a new R&D organization within Microsoft Research.  His team focuses on harnessing AI to understand how people interact with information systems and develop new experiences to empower people to be more productive.

is an Associate Professor of Theology and Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois.  Professor Bacote‘s areas of teaching and research include theology and culture, theological anthropology, and faith and work.  His numerous published works include “The Political Disciple: A Theology of Public Life” and “Erasing Race: Racial Identity and Theological Anthropology – Black Scholars in White Space”. Professor Bacote is a graduate of the Citadel, holds a masters degrees in divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a masters degree in philosophy and PhD in theological and religious studies from Drew University.

teaches business ethics at Seattle Pacific University and is a former senior executive at Microsoft. He is a graduate of the California Institute of Technology, the Stanford Business School, Fuller Theological Seminary, and holds a Ph.D. in Theological Ethics from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. An ordained Presbyterian minister and Parish Associate of University Presbyterian Church, Bruce also holds five patents from his work as a startup entrepreneur.

is a Senior Advisor for The Future Society, a nonprofit think-and-do tank which advances the global governance of Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies.  He brings to AI&F a knowledge of entities engaged in AI governance on a global scale, as well as over 20 years of non-profit leadership, fundraising, education, and legal experience in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Lycoming College, a law degree, cum laude, from Widener Law Commonwealth, and a Doctor of Education degree, with High Distinction, from Liberty University.

is an Associate Professor in Islamic Studies and Advisor to the President of Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University in Istanbul, Turkey.  His research and teaching focus on Muslim spirituality, Islamic Ethics and Law, and Sustainable Development. Professor Bensaid has published in numerous journals and previously taught at International Islamic University Malaysia, and at Effat University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He received his PhD in Contemporary Islamic Thought from McGill University, Canada.

is currently exploring a number of AI opportunities and areas of interest after a recent stint as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2) in Seattle. He was previously the Founder and CEO of Seattle-based travel personalization startup, Utrip, which utilized AI and human experts to help travelers plan highly personalized trips. Gilad grew up in Israel and moved to Washington in the late 90’s with his family when his dad joined a startup. Gilad is a graduate of the UW Foster School of Business where he obtained both his undergraduate and masters degrees. Gilad is passionate about travel, technology, food, innovation, and history and is a congregant at Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle.

is presently a PhD student at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, following a 25 year career  in technology, primarily as a General Manager of Product Management at Microsoft.  His PhD research studies the role that artificial intelligence technology plays in the relationship between spiritual/religious information and spiritual/religious knowledge among people living in the Pacific Northwest. Shanen is a graduate of Carroll College in Economics and International Relations and earned a Master of Arts Degree in Religions and Education from the University of Warwick in England.

is a Seattle attorney with 25 years of experience in counseling clients and litigating claims related to technology, risk management and insurance coverage. He attends West Side Presbyterian Church and is actively involved in programs that integrate faith, science and technology with faculty of the University of Washington. He is a graduate of Stanford University and UC Berkeley’s Law School.

is associate professor of theology and culture and co-director of Reel Spirituality at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.  He is actively engaged in writing and speaking on the interaction between theology and culture—particularly film, television, and online media—in both academic and popular forums.  In addition to Kutter’s numerous books on theology, film, gaming and other media, The Kutter Callaway Podcast on Soundcloud or via iTunes is an ongoing conversation with artists, writers, thought leaders, and experts exploring how culture and faith  inform and give rise to one another. Kutter is ordained as a Baptist minister. He holds a B.Sc. degree from the University of Colorado, two Master’s degrees from Fuller Seminary, and two Ph.Ds, the first in Theology and Culture and the second in Psychological Science.

is the Director/Dean of the Creatio Center for Technology, Media and Design at Northwest University, and a member of AI&F’s board of directors.  Craig worked for 35 years as a software engineer and architect, with his last act the co-founding of INRIX, a highly successful traffic and navigation software and data company in Kirkland, Washington. Craig holds a bachelors of science degree in mathematics  from Occidental College.

is a software engineer with 20 years of experience working in a variety of Silicon Valley start-ups and large scale tech companies, including Yahoo and Facebook. Danny’s most recent role was as Vice President of Engineering at LogDNA, a multicloud log management solution. Danny’s interest in artificial intelligence and ethics began during his time at Stanford University, where he received an undergraduate degree in Symbolic Systems and a master’s degree in Computer Science, both with concentrations in AI. He has pursued those interests in industry, working with NLP at Inxight, and at Branch.co, which applies machine learning to mobile phone data while making microloans in Africa.

is a former/recent Research Fellow in AI, Philosophy and Theology at Cambridge Muslim College in Cambridge, England.  His research interests are in the fields of AI, cognitive science and neuroscience in connection with Islamic conceptions of the mind, intelligence, human reasoning, cognition, knowledge, and the nature of perception and consciousness.  In addition to professional and academic journals, he writes on current topical issues at https://www.mqbc.co.uk/  Dr. Chaudhary holds a Masters of Engineering degree and was awarded his PhD in physics by Imperial College in London.

is Professor of Law at the Seattle University School of Law, and a Fellow of the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality. He was educated at Pomona College and Yale Divinity School before receiving his law degree from Harvard Law School. Professor Chinen teaches contracts and courses in international law and writes on various aspects of international law (including governance and theology) as well as artificial intelligence and legal responsibility

is a senior instructor in the Departments of Management and Philosophy at Seattle University, and the Managing Director of Seattle University’s Initiative in Ethics and Transformative Technologies. Nathan focusing on business ethics with particular research emphasis on big data management and business use of artificial intelligence.  He has been instrumental in the formation of the University’s new Center for Science and Innovation.

is an assistant professor at the University of Washington. She currently teaches classes in Comparative Religion; Environmental Ethics; Philosophy, Religion and the Environment; Biomedical Ethics and Introduction to Ethics.

 is a Bellevue based attorney and business executive with extensive experience in international business and transactions, technology and intellectual property. Salah is a member of the board of directors of AI&F.

is an Assistant Investigator at the Allen Institute for Brain Science where her research centers on how the brain transforms sensory information into perception and behavior. Saskia received her Ph.D. from Harvard.

Is a professor, author, and mentor on culture, faith and technology. In addition to writing screenplays for Hollywood, his books include iGods: How Technology Shapes Our Spiritual and Social Lives and Selfies: Searching for the Image of God in a Digital Age. He graduated from Davidson College, earned an M.F.A. from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, and an M.Div. and Ph.D from Fuller Theological Seminary.

is the pastor of Northminster Presbyterian Church in Seattle. While at Princeton Theological Seminary she placed emphasis on the field of Theological Anthropology, which seeks to understand what it means to be human and supports human flourishing. Serving in congregations from Belfast, Northern Ireland to Cape Town, South Africa to Los Angeles, CA, she has observed the complex impacts of technology across the globe. Her current congregation, set in the Ballard neighborhood, engages people working in the humanities, ethics, technology, brain science, just to name a few.

is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Physics at Belmont University in Nashville, where he teaches physics to audio engineering students and is widely engaged in writing and conferences on the ethics of technology, and on machine learning applications to acoustics and audio signal processing. Fitting for Nashville and Belmont, he is also a singer songwriter. Scott holds a B.S. in Physics from the College of William and Mary and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Texas at Austin.

is Professor of Philosophy, a Fellow of the University of Notre Dame’s Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values, and an Affiliate of the newly formed interdisciplinary Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center. Professor Howard has been writing and teaching about the ethics of science and technology for over three decades. Among his current research interests are ethical and legal issues in cyberconflict and cybersecurity as well as the ethics of autonomous systems.  Professor Howard earned his Ph.D from Boston University.

is the President Emeritus of the University of Washington and also served there as long time Provost and Chair of the Department of Bioengineering.  He is a leader at University Presbyterian Church. At the UW, he is presently leading the Health Innovators Collaborative to advance information sharing, resource availability, joint projects and creation of new initiatives related to seizing the opportunities presented by the unprecedented changes in healthcare.

is an engineer with an MBA. His technology company is primarily focused in the area of cybersecurity where he is developing next generation access control solutions based on his patented authorization method. His previous work includes creating a live music nightclub that played a pivotal role during Seattle’s “grunge” years and developing automated production and control systems for military aircraft including the B-2, A-6 and F-22. In addition to work on a number of nonprofit boards, he has been both an Elder and a Deacon at his church.

is a Fellow in Residence at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, where he writes and teaches about religion and technology. He received a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania with a dissertation on the relationship between Jewish history and the history of technology, and an MA from the University of Pennsylvania on medieval Islamic law. He writes in both academic and popular forums and has founded two media companies. Information about his work can be found at www.davidzvi.com.

is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Washington, Tacoma, and teaches in Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, a division of the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on the intersection of religion, human rights, and international relations.

 is an entrepreneur, investor, technologist and a community volunteer. He is a 20-year Microsoft Corporation veteran where he served as a Corporate Vice President.  In 1997 Jawad helped establish the Ithna‐asheri Muslim Association of the Northwest (IMAN)  and serves as its President.