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ETHICS AND TECH CONFERENCE 2025: GOVERNING AI
Join Seattle University’s Technology Ethics Initiative at the third annual Ethics & Tech Conference to explore the evolving legal and policy landscape governing AI.
GOVERNING AI: LAW AND POLICY
Since its inception in 2023, the Ethics and Tech Conference has been a gathering for thought leaders and industry professionals to engage in meaningful discussions, debates, and networking opportunities. Each year, we tackle pressing issues at the intersection of ethics and technology, from AI’s evolving role in the workforce to its impact on education and healthcare.
In 2025, we turn our focus to the legal and political frameworks shaping AI governance. Join us as experts navigate the complexities of regulation, policy, and ethical responsibility in artificial intelligence.
Be part of the conversation!
Register Now
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Event Information
June 18, 2025
12:30pm - 5:00pm
Seattle University, 901 12th Avenue Seattle, WA 98122
11:00-12:30: registration and informal networking
12:30-1:00: introductions
1:00-1:50
Democracy, fundamental rights and the global picture (Maggie Chon)
- Mark Chinen (setting the scope for AI regulation around the world)
- Dongsheng Zang (China’s regulation of AI)
- Natasha Crampton (UN and AI regulation)
- Sonia Katyal (Democracy, trust, and disinformation)
2:00-2:50
State regulation of AI (Steve Tapia)
- Matt Scherer (description of state regulation in the US as a whole)
- Jai Jaisimha (nonprofit perspectives)
- Bisma Shoaib (regulation of business in WA through FTC)
- Tee Sannon (WA Task Force)
3:20-4:10
Business self-regulation (Jeffery Smith)
- Teresa Hutson (Microsoft approach)
- Emily McReynolds (Adobe approach)
- Jay Conrad (sector-specific AI regulation)
4:20-5:00
Roundtable (Eduardo Peñalver)
All speakers
MEET THE SPEAKERS
Mark Chinen
Professor of Law at the Seattle University School of Law
Mark Chinen is a Professor of Law at the Seattle University School of Law. Raised in Hawaii, he was educated at Pomona College and Yale Divinity School before receiving his law degree from Harvard Law School. Prior to teaching at Seattle University, Professor Chinen practiced in the areas of international trade and corporate and securities law in Washington D.C. with the firm, Covington & Burling. Professor Chinen teaches the ‘law’ of artificial intelligence, contracts, business entities and courses in international economic law. He is the author of two books: The International Governance of Artificial Intelligence (2023) and Law and Autonomous Machines: The Co-Evolution of Legal Responsibility and Technology (2019). He is a commissioner on the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission.
JAY T. CONRAD
Lawyer, Scholar, and Policy Strategist
Jay T. Conrad is a lawyer, scholar, and policy strategist specializing in international data privacy and competition laws that target technology sectors. They recently clerked for U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) on emerging AI and technology-related legislation and clerked twice for the Federal Trade Commission, once in each Bureau. They received their LL.M. in Technology Law & Policy from Georgetown University Law Center in 2024 and their J.D. from Seattle University School of Law in 2023. They are currently a Hazelton Fellow at the University of Washington School of Law’s Technology Law & Public Policy Clinic and are studying political economy and global business law in preparation for their forthcoming PhD.
NATASHA CRAMPTON
Vice President and Chief Responsible AI Officer at Microsoft Corporation
Natasha Crampton leads Microsoft’s Office of Responsible AI as the company’s first Chief Responsible AI Officer. The Office of Responsible AI defines and governs the company’s approach to responsible AI, and contributes to the discussion about the new laws, norms, and standards that are needed to secure the benefits of AI and guard against its risks. In her personal capacity, Natasha serves on the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence, which is advancing recommendations for the international governance of AI.
Before establishing Microsoft’s Office of Responsible AI, Natasha served as lead counsel to the Aether Committee, Microsoft’s advisory committee on responsible AI. Natasha also spent seven years in Microsoft’s Australian and New Zealand subsidiaries helping highly regulated customers move to the cloud.
Prior to Microsoft, Natasha worked in law firms in Australia and New Zealand, specializing in copyright, privacy, and internet safety and security issues. Natasha graduated from the University of Auckland in New Zealand with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Information Systems.
TERESA HUTSON
Teresa Hutson is the Corporate Vice President of the Trusted Technology Group at Microsoft. In this role she helps advance the corporate mission to empower every person to achieve more by leading our efforts to earn trust and promote fundamental rights. This includes accessibility, privacy, digital safety, responsible AI, regulatory governance, enterprise resilience, and critical institutions leveraging AI. As AI changes the world, her team works to ensure that the technology they build is both useful and trusted. As the executive sponsor for both the Military at Microsoft and Women in CELA Employee Resource Groups, Teresa also advocates for a culture of inclusivity across the company.
Previously, Teresa worked as the Technology for Fundamental Rights, Corporate Vice President where her team worked to extend the benefits of technology while also mitigating potential harms. She was also the Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for the HR Legal Group at Microsoft where she oversaw immigration, employment law, and employment compliance practices. Prior to Microsoft, Teresa worked in private practice with Paul Hastings LLP. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Textual Studies from Syracuse University and her J.D. from Cornell Law School. Beyond her role at Microsoft, Teresa is the First Vice Chair for the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She is also active in the business community, partnering with Seattle organizations to highlight and advance issues like employment, public policy, elections, and community partnerships.
JAI JAISIMHA
Co-Founder, Transparency Coalition
Jai Jaisimha is a Seattle-based technology entrepreneur with expertise in AI-enabled product development and data science. Jai has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering with a focus on AI from the University of Washington. During his career, Jai has founded or held leadership roles at four start-ups that leveraged AI/Machine Learning to build software applications, including Hitch Works Inc., acquired by Service Now in 2022 and Appnique which developed privacy preserving advertising technology solutions using AI/LLMs. At Microsoft, AOL and RealNetworks, Jai led pioneering initiatives in the digital distribution of content that ensured user privacy was respected and the rights of creators and copyright holders were protected.
SONIA KATYAL
Professor and Associate Dean, University of California Berkeley School of Law
Sonia Katyal is a professor and Associate Dean of Faculty Development and Research at UC Berkeley School of Law. Her research explores the intersection of technology, intellectual property, and civil rights, focusing on privacy, free speech, and discrimination. She has examined topics such as algorithmic transparency, trade secrecy, and the role of technology in shaping gender and cultural property rights. Katyal was appointed to the U.S. Commerce Department’s Digital Economy Board of Advisors as an Affiliate Scholar at Stanford Law’s Center for Internet and Society. She also serves on the Executive Committee for the Berkeley Center for New Media and advises Women in Technology Law.
EMILY MCREYNOLDS
Head of Global AI Strategy, Adobe
Emily McReynolds is the Head of Global AI Strategy at Adobe, with over 15 years of experience in data governance, machine learning, and AI. She specializes in making complex AI concepts accessible and has led initiatives such as The AI Inflection Point: How to Adopt AI Responsibly in Your Organization. Previously, she was the founding program director of the University of Washington’s Tech Policy Lab, where she co-led projects on augmented reality, driverless cars, and AI-driven toys. With a background in technology and policy, she deeply understands AI’s ethical and societal impacts.
TEE SANNON
Technology Policy Program Director at the ACLU of Washington
Tee Sannon is the Technology Policy Program Director at the ACLU of Washington, where she works to defend and promote people's civil liberties in the digital age. She is also a social scientist with a decade of experience conducting research on the social impact of technologies, particularly in the context of historically marginalized groups. Her research has focused on improving privacy, accessibility, and equity on digital platforms through evidence-based recommendations for policy and design. She has published 15+ peer-reviewed articles on these topics in leading social computing venues, including the Association for Computing Machinery’s CHI and CSCW conferences. Tee holds a PhD from Cornell University, where she specialized in human-computer interaction (HCI) and social computing.
MATT SCHERER
Senior Policy Counsel for Workers’ Rights and Technology at the Center for Democracy & Technology
Matt Scherer is Senior Policy Counsel for Workers’ Rights and Technology at the Center for Democracy & Technology. He studies how emerging technologies affect workers in the workplace and labor market, including the impacts of emerging AI decision-making, digital surveillance, and automated management technologies on workers' privacy, health, dignity, and autonomy. He works with CDT's Privacy & Data Project to advocate for policies that protect workers’ digital rights and ensure that new technologies benefit and empower workers and consumers.
BISMA SHOAIB
Attorney, Northwest Region Federal Trade Commission
Bisma Shoaib is an attorney in the Northwest Region of the Federal Trade Commission, specializing in antitrust and privacy law. She has a background in civil litigation, focusing on healthcare regulation, corporate compliance, and health information privacy. With international experience in technology-related treaties and human rights issues, she is also a Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe (CIPP/E) and a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM). A graduate of Seattle University School of Law, she brings a deep understanding of regulatory and legal challenges in the tech space. While serving as an FTC liaison for this event, her statements are her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission or any individual Commissioner.
DONGSHENG ZANG
Associate Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law
Dongsheng Zang is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law. His teaching and research areas include international law, and comparative study of Chinese law. In recent years, he has been doing research on technology, democracy and the constitution in the global context, with particular interests in the United States and China. He holds an S.J.D. and LL.M. from Harvard Law School, in addition to his LL.M. from Renmin University (Beijing) and LL.B. from Beijing College of Economics. His most recent publication is “The Privacy Act of 1974: The American Bill of Rights on Data and Its Unfinished Business,” University of Pittsburgh Law Review.
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Photos from the Ethics and Tech Conference