Original job description
FairwAI is building the next-generation compliance platform to detect and prevent algorithmic bias in real-world systems - from hospitality to healthcare. Our goal is to ensure AI not only performs well but also treats people fairly, particularly in high-stakes domains like medicine. Backed by experts from MIT, Harvard, and leading industry partners, we are applying computer vision, machine learning, and behavioral science to uncover subtle but systemic discrimination in real-time interactions.
The Challenge:
Minority women in the U.S. are 3–5x more likely to experience maternal mortality. Racial and gender bias in clinical settings can manifest through tone of voice, body language, and microaggressions - often without clear documentation.
The Role:
We’re seeking a mission-driven Computer Vision Intern to help build our bias detection prototype. You’ll work on multimodal systems that analyze video, audio, and metadata from clinical environments (synthetic or anonymized), surfacing patterns of unequal treatment across race, gender, and age.
What You’ll Do:
Design and test CV models to detect facial expression, gaze, and gesture patterns
Integrate audio cues (tone, interruption frequency, speaking time, sentiment)
Build real-time inference pipelines using open-source tools (OpenCV, Mediapipe, YOLO, etc.)
Collaborate with researchers, clinicians, and policy experts to annotate and validate bias signals
Contribute to a bias detection dashboard or codebase that can be demoed internally
Preferred Skills:
Experience with OpenCV, MediaPipe, Dlib, or deep learning CV models (e.g., YOLOv8, Detectron2)
Familiarity with emotion recognition, gaze tracking, or nonverbal behavior detection
Comfort working with video datasets and annotation tools (CVAT, Labelbox, etc.)
Some understanding of fairness metrics, algorithmic auditing, or real-world bias
Bonus: Experience with multimodal ML (video + text/audio), transformers, or RAG architectures
What Success Looks Like:
Model prototypes detecting behavioral disparities by demographic group
Insight reports analyzing bias signals in clinical footage
Demo-ready Jupyter Notebook or lightweight dashboard
GitHub repo with well-documented code and model outputs
Dataset Access:
You’ll work with a combination of:
Synthetic or public datasets (e.g., MEDVidQA, MIMIC-II audio/visual modules, simulated healthcare interactions)
Annotated facial expression and gesture datasets (FER+, AffectNet, HUME)
FairwAI’s internal behavioral datasets (synthetic + anonymized, ethical-use only)
All data will be handled under ethical review standards and no patient-identifiable information will be used in any modeling stage. Our team will provide a safe sandbox and privacy-first protocol for experimentation.
What You’ll Gain:
Experience at the frontier of real-time fairness auditing
Mentorship from AI, healthcare, and ethics leaders from MIT, Harvard, and global NGOs
Deep impact: Your work will inform hospital safety reviews and clinical training programs
(Optional) Opportunity to publish or present results with team at academic or policy conferences
Who You Are:
Self-directed and curious
Experienced in Python-based ML and vision workflows
Comfortable exploring ambiguity and proposing experiments
Passionate about using tech to create social change
Logistics:
Duration: 12 weeks (flexible and rolling)
Location: Remote or hybrid (US timezone preferred)
Hours: 10-20 hrs/week depending on your capacity in the fall and 20-40 hours for summer
This internship is offered through our 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which focuses on education, healthcare, and economic development. As a nonprofit, we are able to host unpaid interns in compliance with U.S. labor law and CPT/OPT eligibility guidelines. We welcome international students with CPT or OPT authorization.
You will work with a multi-disciplinary team:
Dr. John Cooley – Technical Advisor
Role: Leads FairwAI’s technical architecture, AI compliance engine, and research partnerships.
Bio: Dr. John Cooley is a renowned technologist and serial entrepreneur who holds five degrees from MIT: B.S. in Electrical Engineering, B.S. in Physics, M.S. in Electrical Engineering, an Engineer’s Degree, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. He earned the David Adler Memorial Thesis Prize and the Morris Joseph Levin Award, recognizing his groundbreaking work in engineering and systems design. John was the CTO and later CEO of Nanoramic Laboratories, where he led the company to raise $100+ in capital and developed cutting-edge battery and nanotechnology solutions. With 15+ years of experience at the frontier of hardware-software integration and AI systems, John brings a rare blend of research rigor and venture-scale execution. He now advises FairwAI on tech architecture, compliance logic, and academic research integration across MIT and international institutions.
Dr. Niousha Roshani – Social Systems Strategist
Role: Co-leads FairwAI’s strategy, focusing on culturally responsive AI, equity frameworks, and global engagement.
Bio: Dr. Niousha Roshani is a leading voice in the intersection of AI, social justice, and public interest technology. She is a former Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University and co-founder of the Center for Democracy Development and Rule of Law at Stanford University. With a background spanning the UN system, Latin American human rights movements, and Stanford’s impact tech community, Niousha brings a transnational lens to algorithmic fairness and ethical design. Her expertise ensures FairwAI builds tools that not only detect discrimination - but empower communities and institutions to address it systemically. Based in Brazil, she anchors our Global South partnerships and pilots. Brazil is the last country in the western hemisphere to abolish slavery.
Dr. Ryan Chin – Strategic Advisor, Urban Tech & Mobility Systems
Role: Ryan advises FairwAI on systems architecture, urban integration, and commercial strategy. He brings expertise in AI-driven mobility, sensor networks, and resilient infrastructure to inform how FairwAI scales across physical environments like hotels, hospitals, and cities.
Bio:
Dr. Ryan Chin is a globally recognized expert in smart cities, urban mobility, and sustainable design systems. He co-founded Optimus Ride, a leading autonomous vehicle company spun out of MIT, where he served as CEO and led the development of self-driving tech for campuses, cities, and business districts. Prior to that, Ryan was Managing Director of the City Science Initiative at the MIT Media Lab, where he pioneered AI-integrated mobility systems and urban computing platforms.
Ryan holds a Ph.D. and two Master's degrees from MIT in Media Arts and Sciences and Architecture. A serial entrepreneur and systems thinker, Ryan has advised Fortune 100 companies, U.S. government agencies, and international city governments on emerging technologies, sustainability, and mobility innovation. He is a frequent keynote speaker at Davos, Smart City Expo, and the UN.
At FairwAI, Ryan supports us with building out our advisory team and the integration of computer vision, IoT, and AI fairness protocols into real-world infrastructure, ensuring our platform is adaptable, sensor-compatible, and aligned with the future of ethical urban technology.
Mike Rinella – Government Affairs & Financial Strategy
Role: Shapes FairwAI’s public policy strategy, unions to get ivolved, government, and compliance market integration.
Bio: Mike Rinella brings decades of experience in public finance, state governance, and strategic planning. He served as a senior advisor to two Governors of New York, including Governor Mario Cuomo, where he worked on economic development, energy regulation, and state-level policy reform. He was also Director of Strategic Planning at SolarFi, helping guide federal partnerships and compliance infrastructure for renewable energy deployments. A graduate of Harvard Kennedy School (’86), Mike is instrumental in crafting FairwAI’s pathways to adoption by Attorneys General, state legislatures, and procurement agencies. He also helps navigate our positioning with foundation-aligned capital like PRIs and MRIs.
Carson Smuts – IoT & Hardware Integration Advisor (MIT Media Lab)
Role: Advises on spatial sensing, IoT systems, and architecture for real-world monitoring.
Bio: Carson Smuts is a Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Media Lab’s City Science Group, where he has spent over a decade developing sensor platforms, digital twins, and hardware systems that interact with real-world environments. He co-created the CityScope urban simulation platform and led the design of MIT’s Environmental Sensing Infrastructure, a foundational piece of the lab’s smart city research. Trained as an architect at Columbia University, Carson transitioned into full-stack engineering with a passion for embedding fairness into built environments. He guides FairwAI’s integration with CCTV, IoT sensors, and spatial computing to power real-time bias detection in travel, healthcare, and hiring.
Dr. Taj Ahmad Eldridge – Strategic Advisor, Capital & Climate Justice
Role: Taj advises FairwAI on capital formation, social impact investment strategy, and ESG-aligned growth. He brings deep expertise in climate finance, racial equity, and fund structuring - ensuring FairwAI’s monetization models and funding pathways align with both mission and market.
Bio:
Taj Ahmad Eldridge is a leading voice in climate justice investing and equitable capital innovation. A former Senior Director of Investment at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), Taj has helped deploy hundreds of millions of dollars toward sustainable technologies and underrepresented founders. He is currently Managing Partner at Include Ventures, where he builds investment vehicles that close wealth gaps and accelerate climate solutions - particularly in communities historically excluded from capital access.
With 20+ years of experience in banking, venture capital, and fund management, Taj has advised funds and institutions including the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Elemental Excelerator, and Capria Ventures. He is also a Senior Advisor to Jobs for the Future (JFF) and a board member of multiple national investment networks and ESG platforms.
Taj’s unique strength lies in combining climate policy, community wealth-building, and financial engineering to drive systems-level impact. As an advisor to FairwAI, he supports efforts to build revenue models rooted in risk mitigation, government accountability, and regulatory tech - while helping ensure capital raised aligns with the venture’s vision of equity-first compliance.
Stipend: Unpaid, but eligible for school credit and includes mentorship, reference, and portfolio support. The goal is to turn this into a paid role but it is not promised. We offer OPT and CPT.
Top-performing interns will be:
Referred to graduate fellowships or full-time impact AI roles.
Eligible for future paid positions with FairwAI or its nonprofit arm if funding is available.
Supported in publishing or presenting findings at tech and policy forums.
FairwAI strongly encourages applications from women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, first-gen, and underrepresented groups in tech. We believe those most impacted by bias should help design the systems that fix it.
