Autumn 2016 Issue
> MAYA KRISHNAN Philosophy and Big Data Modern technology is increasingly about big data, complex coding, and building huge, interactive clouds that can make it all work. But the scientific and sometimes nerdy reputation of the IT experts needed for such missions can be unnerving. What on earth – some observers worry – is all this going to be used for? Enter from left stage Maya Krishnan, a Rhodes scholar who’s shown herself to be as clever at computers as anyone, but who’s also concerned about the philosophical issues raised. She’s investigating how today’s modern technology has changed conceptions of identity, knowledge, and truth, to help make sure it’s used for humane purposes. In a recent interview, Ms Krishnan said: “While society requires many data scientists who are able to develop technical solutions, it also requires humanists who able to interpret and explain the significance of the changes that new technology brings.” Ms Krishnan graduated with top honours from Stanford University with a major in Philosophy and a minor in Computer Science. Her thesis examined 18th century philosopher Kant’s representation of infinity, and she received a Deans’ Award for writing Modern Illuminations – ten essays on the metaphysics of modern thought about what it means to be human. But Ms Krishnan also works on practical projects. She designed POLIS, a Stanford website that organises datasets to provide data visualisation about ancient Greece and Rome. And she developed new computational techniques for finding ovarian cancer markers in genome sequencing data. This collision of philosophy and technology has encouraged Ms Krishnan to continue her quest to discover how huge datasets created by modern technology can be used to help society. She says: “I think about how traditional philosophical theories on human reason have relevance in the modern world. This means reading philosophers like Plato and Kant and seeing if I can use their ideas to make sense of contemporary developments in mathematics and computer science.” Ms Krishnan grew up in Rockville, Maryland. Her Indian-born father worked for the World Bank and her Jewish mother as a management consultant for non-profit organisations. She says her upbringing wasn’t overly religious, but that she was taught that religion can be “about a set of values that you use to form your life”, and for finding a way to improve other people’s lives.
While at high school, she volunteered for a charity that supported underprivileged children in Washington DC, and soon realised that its paperbased records were causing problems. She built a cloud computing-based database to keep all of the organisation’s information in one place, and then taught the children computer skills. “This really changed the way I thought about the social impact of technology,” she says, “and the CFI.co | Capital Finance International
different kinds of education people receive based on their economic background.” Ms Krishnan is studying for twin Masters degrees in Theology and Computer Science during her Rhodes-funded time at Oxford: “I wanted the chance to think more deeply about the implications of recent developments in computing.” Ms Krishnan also hopes to create improved computer programmes for complex datasets. 47