AI & Housing at UNM’s Research & Discovery Week

In November, as part of UNM’s Research and Discovery Week, AAHC is cosponsoring a lecture by Sonia Torres Rodríguez from the Urban Institute on generative AI and how it is being used in housing and public space surveillance, as well as what cities are doing to ensure transparency and equity when using generative AI (and other technologies).

A panel discussion will follow with Anita Córdova, CEO of Transformation Strategies and Past President of the Albuquerque Affordable Housing Coalition and Andrea Calderón, Senior Advisor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence and President of the Albuquerque Affordable Housing Coalition.

• What: Lecture by Sonia Torres Rodríguez, Research Associate, Office of Race and Equity Research, The Urban Institute
• Where:In Person: UNM School of Architecture and Planning, George Pearl Hall 101. No registration necessary to join in person.

  Virtual: Please register here to participate by Zoom. A link will be sent prior to the event.

• When: Nov 13, 2024 from 5:30 to 7 pm

Artificial Intelligence: Sea Change or Hype? 

The opportunities and challenges for local governments, housing markets, and neighborhoods

This keynote lecture will demystify “artificial intelligence” (Al) and discuss some of the opportunities and risks Al creates. It will include an overview of how local governments are approaching Al in their cities and how this technology has shown up in a variety of ways in the housing space, including across mortgage lending, tenant screening, and public space surveillance. We will brainstorm how to center people and communities in the development, utilization, and implementation of any new technology, including Al. Participants will leave with a general framework for how to prioritize equity, transparency, and accountability in future applications or usage of Al. Comments by the Albuquerque Affordable Housing Coalition leadership and a panel discussion will follow the keynote lecture and link the lecture to regional action.

Sonia Torres Rodríguez is a research associate in the Office of Race and Equity Research at the Urban Institute, where she is affiliated with the Racial Equity Analytics Lab and the Community Engagement Resource Center. She applies advanced quantitative and participatory research methods to study policies and programs advancing equity and inclusion, with particular focus on equitable and participatory uses of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automated decision-making systems. Before joining Urban, Sonia was a research fellow for Stanford’s Center for Poverty and Inequality, supporting a qualitative and ethnographic study of poverty and inequality in primarily Spanish-speaking Latinx and Black communities in the US. She holds a BA in mathematical economic analysis from Rice University and an MS in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University.

This event is cosponsored by UNM Research and Discovery Week, the School of Architecture + Planning, The Albuquerque Affordable Housing Coalition, and Homewise.

More UNM Research and Discovery Week information here.