Maria Virgínia Ferreira de Almeida Júdice Gamito Dignum (born 2 May 1964, in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

) is a Professor of Computer Science at

Umeå University Umeå University ( sv, Umeå universitet; Ume Sami: ) is a public research university located in Umeå, in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present borders. As of 2015 ...

, and an Associated Professor at

Delft University of Technology Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...

. She leads the Social and Ethical

Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

research group. Her research and writing considers responsible AI and the development evaluation of human-agent team work, thereby aligning with

Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Human-centered computing (HCC) studies the design, development, and deployment of mixed-initiative human-computer systems. It is emerged from the convergence of multiple disciplines that are concerned both with understanding human beings and w ...

themes.

Education and early career

After graduating from university of Lisbon in 1987, Dignum moved to Amsterdam where she completed a MSc in Computer science at the

Vrije Universiteit The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...

in 1989. She then worked in consultancy and system development. In 2003 Dignum returned to academic computer science and she earned her doctorate in computer science at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

in 2004. She was appointed as an associate professor at

. She was made a

Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research The Dutch Research Council (NWO, Dutch: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) is the national research council of the Netherlands. NWO funds thousands of top researchers at universities and institutes and steers the course of ...

Veni laureate in 2006 for her work in agent-based organisational frameworks.

Research

She was made an associate professor at

in 2009. In 2011 she was appointed Vice President of the ''

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...

Vereniging voor Kunstmatige Intelligentie (BNVKI)'', the Benelux Association for AI, a position she held until 2017. In 2018, Dignum joined

as a Professor of AI and Society. Her research is supported by the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program. She is interested in the ethical and cultural impacts of

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

, and ways to make AI both optimised and transparent for the people who are impacted by it. She is a Fellow of the

European Association for Artificial Intelligence The European Association for Artificial Intelligence (EurAI) (formerly European Co-ordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence (ECCAI)) is the representative body for the European artificial intelligence community. EurAI was established in 19 ...

. She hopes that AI will not be seen as only a computer science discipline, but one which interacts with all academic areas.

Policy work

Dignum was appointed to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

High Level Expert Group in

, in which she capacity she helps create guidelines and policy on the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

AI strategy. The recommendations from the group are included in the

's five-year plan, and will be part of the

Multiannual Financial Framework The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) of the European Union, also called the financial perspective, is a seven-year framework regulating its annual budget. It is laid down in a unanimously adopted Council Regulation with the consent of the Eu ...

up until 2027. In 2018 the group delivered the Ethical Guidelines of Artificial Intelligence as well as a series of recommendations to guide trustworthy AI. She serves on the board of AllAI, a collective of researchers bringing stakeholders together to monitor the usage of AI. In 2019, Dignum was elected to the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

Global AI Council. Dignum provides expert commentary on AI at conferences and public events. In 2023,

United Nations Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Socia ...

appointed Dignum to his Artificial Intelligence Advisory Body on risks, opportunities and international governance of artificial intelligence, co-chaired by Carme Artigas and

James Manyika James M. Manyika is a Zimbabwean-Americans, American academic, consultant, and business executive. He is known for his research and scholarship into the intersection of technology and the economy, including artificial intelligence, robotics autom ...

.Secretary-General Announces Creation of New Artificial Intelligence Advisory Board
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United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, press release of 26 October 2023.

Selected publications

Her publications include;

Books

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Papers

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dignum, Virgínia Portuguese women computer scientists Artificial intelligence researchers Artificial intelligence ethicists Utrecht University alumni Academic staff of Umeå University 1964 births Living people Fellows of the European Association for Artificial Intelligence