Art Pays Tribute to Renee Cummings’ Work in AI

Renee Cummings, Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia’s School of Data Science, is inspiring artwork at the intersection of creativity and artificial intelligence.  

The Trinidad and Tobago-born AI ethicist was recently featured in NewsDay after inspiring a 20-year-old artist to create a painting in her honor.  

The “Wo-volution” painting was one of 24 pieces exhibited in the University’s Rotunda Gallery’s DigitAll Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality exhibition, which ran March 6-31 in honor of Women’s History Month. 

Artist Tyler Villaruel’s statement on the piece read, “Wo-volution was inspired by psychologist, criminologist and AI ethicist Renee Cummings. My introduction to her work began with an accidental click on an AI site, resulting in an influx of AI-related information on all my socials, with a recommendation that I follow Cummings, which I did.” He says what inspires him is Cummings’ “amazing work as a woman in digital leadership, transforming technology education and mentoring girls and women.”  

While the artist and the ethicist have not met, Cummings was introduced to the artwork through a “former media colleague who is also Villaruel’s aunt.” Cummings took to Facebook on March 15th to share how humbled she was by the artwork, saying young people are “super amazing.”  

For more information about the artist, read here.