Session: Developing Ethical, Inclusive and Accountable Artificial Intelligence Agents for a Human-Centered Society
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents increasingly permeate every facet of modern society from healthcare and education to finance and governance, the imperative to develop ethical, inclusive, and accountable AI agents has never been more urgent. In this talk, we will explore contemporary methodologies and frameworks for developing AI agents that prioritize ethical practices, social good, and global equity. Drawing upon cross disciplinary research and real world case studies, I will share a practical approach to embedding ethical reasoning, transparency, and accountability within the core architecture of intelligent agents. We will examine how leveraging explainable AI (XAI), robust fairness metrics, and participatory design principles can help mitigate bias, foster inclusivity, and ensure that AI agents act in alignment with ethical norms and regulatory standards for shaping a human-centered AI future. This session invites AI practitioners, researchers, and industry leaders to reimagine the development lifecycle of autonomous agents by placing ethics, inclusivity, and accountability at the center of innovation.
Key Takeaways
• Actionable Frameworks: Learn practical methodologies to integrate ethical reasoning, fairness, and transparency within AI agent architectures.
• Mitigating Bias: Discover best practices for identifying, measuring, and mitigating algorithmic bias to build more inclusive AI agents.
• Collective Responsibility: Understand how cross-sector collaboration and participatory approaches can drive accountability and foster human-centered AI innovation.
Bio
Sumaiya has 15+ years of global experience in diverse leadership roles including AI & Product Strategy, Product Development & Management, Digital Transformation and Talent Management. She has won many accolades throughout her career and has been honored as 40under40. Sumaiya also served on BOD of a global company.
She made it to the list of Top 20 global Product Leaders of 2023 and she is recognized as Top 100 most influential women of Canada. She is on Claro Top 100 AI & Tech Leaders lists for 2024 & 2025 and is bestowed with Global Recognition Awards twice. Sumaiya also won Chief Product Officer of the year 2024 and is shortlisted for CPO of the year 2025.
Currently she is Chief Product Officer at a category defining AI and Web3.0 company. Previously she served as Chief Product Strategy Officer and earlier she was VP of HR & Digital Transformation. She has worked with Telenor enabling them with their digital transformation. At IBM, she had 3 global roles and she led Technology M&As across 50+ countries in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa enabling IBM to be an AI & Cloud company. Sumaiya has scaled companies to 2X valuation and 3X in revenue. As part of executive team, she has closed millions of dollars of funding for companies.
Sumaiya is a graduate of IBM Leadership Development Program. She is a Startup Advisor, Fulbright scholar with MS/MBA from Purdue University, INSEAD certified Digital Strategy Expert, Certified AI PM and an Engineer with experience of managing cross-functional teams across 6 continents (being based in 4 continents) with Fortune100 multinationals and tech start-ups. She serves on Harvard Business Review (HBR) Advisory Council, World Economic Forum’s AI Council and is on Canadian Web3.0 Committee (Canadian Blockchain Consortium). Sumaiya also collaborates with MIT, University of Toronto and University of Washington for advising portfolio startups across NA and globally specifically in AI, Ethical AI, Product, Technology and Healthcare domains.
As a researcher, keynote speaker, and thought leader, Sumaiya contributes extensively to the global AI and Product community through publications, speaking engagements, media appearances, board and advisory roles. Sumaiya has a strong commitment to mentorship and has mentored 1000s of individuals across the globe. She is also a published author in high-impact peer reviewed journals. Her areas of research are AI based Product Development, Bioinformatics & Biotechnology, Machine Learning/Deep Learning, Neural Networks, Computational Biology and Cybersecurity.
She speaks frequently at multiple forums globally. Sumaiya has spoken at US State Department with delegates from 47 countries including US Congress members. Also gave a talk at Grace Hopper Conference, attended by more than 40K technologists world-wide. Sumaiya has also been a Keynote speaker at University of Toronto and at several industry events including Google DevFest and IEEE. Sumaiya’s work has been featured in national and global media like Al Jazeera, Financial Post, National Post, Telegraph.
Outside work, Sumaiya is a staunch supporter of women and human rights, education and health for underprivileged individuals and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She loves travelling, learning new things especially technology and history, meeting people from diverse backgrounds and experiencing new cultures. She is also a practicing Naturopath and a singer for more than a decade.