Speaker: Kathleen Kramer, 2025 IEEE President-elect
Talk Title: AI – Advancing Technology and its Implications for Humanity
Abstract:
The last two years have brought dramatic increases in AI interest and efforts. It is more than just hype and hope, with both ubiquitous use and major applications. Real use brings meaningful challenges – and, almost by definition, these are unpredictable. The connection and relevance of ecosystems involved continues to drive standards development, public policy, and significant efforts to consider major sustainable development goals. The world wide “conversation” on the implications of generative artificial intelligence has motivated collaborative efforts and included some great minds, aiming to represent the best of advancing technology for humanity. IEEE’s leadership in developing ethical principles and convening expertise to consider technical implications and expertise is historic, and has continued even now to address rapidly evolving challenges to ethical understanding.
Bio:
Kathleen A. Kramer is a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of San Diego in California. She worked to develop new engineering programs as a founding member of the faculty and eventually became the chair of electrical engineering, and then serving as Director of Engineering (2004-2013), providing academic leadership for all of the university’s engineering programs. Her teaching interests are in the areas of signal processing, mechatronics and robotics, and communication systems.
She has also been a Member of Technical Staff at several companies, including ViaSat, Hewlett Packard, and Bell Communications Research. She is a Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society (AESS) and is a past vice president of the society. She is a Fellow of ABET, and leader in the development of criteria for cyber security, mechatronics, and robotics.
She served on the IEEE Board of Directors as IEEE Secretary and chair of Governance, and as IEEE Region 6 (Western USA) Director. She was also chair of the 2023 IEEE Ad Hoc on Innovating Funding Models.
She received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering magna cum laude with a second major in physics from Loyola Marymount University, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology.