Dasha Simons, University of Amsterdam & IBM

AI ethicist. Researcher. Speaker. Board member. By day, Dasha pursues a PhD on Video-AI & Ethics at the Informatics Faculty. She explores ethics at the core of AI development, and bridging the gap between academia and practice, in one of the fastest growing application areas, video. At IBM, as the Trustworthy AI SME, she advises various industries from operational to C-level. As a delegate board member of the AI ethics board, she facilitates governance and responsible development and implementation beyond compliance. By night, Dasha started the AI ethicist’s toolbox. Drawing from her own journey, she co-creates resources that translate ethical principles into practice, at scale. Here she shares the discoveries, stories and lessons, of those walking this path with you, all delivered with warmth, honesty, and a genuine spark of joy that makes the toughest questions feel a little lighter.

At IBM, Dasha has led critical initiatives in AI governance, from designing evaluation frameworks, policy, and algorithmic registries to implementing bias identification and mitigation strategies while navigating complex corporate stakeholder ecosystems. Her work spans industries and geographies, giving her a vantage point for grounding AI ethics discussions in the realities of business, policy, and engineering across diverse corporate and cultural contexts at scale.

“The AI ethicist brings their own map to the territory, and recognising its edges is where the real work begins.”