![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Computer scientist and author Dr. Nisha Talagala spoke about the ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and answered questions from Civic Tech Club members on Friday.
Talagala talked about her background first working for Google as an AI scientist then moving on to build secure AI systems for banks and hospitals. As the founder of AIClub, a company that educates students about AI where she runs a research institute for high schoolers, Talagala explained the importance of using AI responsibly in a time of widespread AI usage following the introduction of tools like ChatGPT.
“AI learns from data, so if the data is bad, the AI will give biased results,” Talagala said. “With ChatGPT everybody has access to AI tools, and the ethics issues that were always there are magnified because now everyone’s playing with it. That’s one of the reasons why ethics have become so serious and why there are laws being passed about it.”
She discussed the environmental impact of widespread AI usage, privacy concerns, and the effectiveness of government AI regulation, pointing to the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act which classifies AI applications into different risk levels. Civic Tech Club members then asked Talagala questions, and she advocated for AI classes in the workplace and the use of AI to detect and defend against cybersecurity threats.
“I really liked how she dove into not only AI but also the law surrounding AI and what’s letting us use it in the right way,” attendee Lucas Huang (9) said. “That’s really important because now that AI is evolving, we can harness it as a tool more than as something that used to cheat. Her talk was really useful, and I took away a lot, especially about technology.”
Civic Tech Club aims to help students understand civic literacy issues and ways to solve them using tech solutions. The club holds speaker events with experts in various scientific fields and government officials to discuss local policy and technology.
“We chose Talagala to speak because she’s an AI expert, and AI is a very important topic right now,” President Krish Nachnani (11) said. “It’s important to learn about the role of AI in this evolving civic landscape. We plan on getting professors that are related to AI and also having discussion events after so students have more time to talk with themselves.”
