AI research earns grad student top prize in university competition
A first-year Counseling Psychology grad student recently won a Cal State Long Beach Grad Slam competition for research highlighting the urgent need to raise awareness about harmful biases in artificial intelligence.
Alexandra Martinez took first place in the non-STEM category of the Grad Slam, a campus-wide competition for the best three-minute (or shorter) graduate student research presentation. She now heads to a Cal State University-wide competition hosted by Cal State San Bernardino next month.
(Another College of Education student, Emily Ramon, took third place for her research.)
Martinez’s winning research with Assistant Professor Devery Rodgers, “Algorithmic Bias,” examined what a group of data science students knew about algorithmic bias before watching the documentary “Coded Bias,” and their reaction to the issue post-viewing. Algorithmic bias occurs when errors in machine learning cause computer programs or systems to produce unfair or discriminatory outcomes that disadvantage certain groups of people.
VIDEO: WATCH MARTINEZ’S PRESENTATION
Their findings showed a significant increase in awareness of tech bias and how it can negatively affect people’s careers and lives, suggesting educational tools such as documentaries can spur action to address it, Martinez said in an interview. AI bias can, for example, lead to racial profiling in policing and racist search engine results — risking serious psychological and societal harm.
The root of the problem is lack of diversity among people who design AI systems, Martinez said.
“The takeaway? Ignorance is no longer an option,” she said in her presentation. “Technology is moving really fast and if we don’t address these issues now, this is going to continue.”
This can be addressed by diversifying the AI workforce, raising awareness of the problem and advocating for fair AI, Martinez said.
Martinez is hoping to spread the word not only through the CSU competition but an article she and Rodgers are writing and at conferences like one she’s attending in New York City in late May, the National Conference on Race & Equity, NCORE.
MORE ONLINE: 2025 CSULB Grad Slam Winners
Winning the Grad Slam was personally and professionally significant, especially as a first-generation, low-income student, Martinez said. The financial prize is helping fund her travel to the conference, and the visibility will help support her Ph.D. applications.
Rodgers was initially concerned about Martinez’s ability to take on the research (which Rodgers was halfway through) as a first-year counseling student without prior experience. But she was quickly impressed by her initiative, work ethic, and genuine interest in Coded Bias.
Martinez learned how to search databases, review literature critically, examine theory and, by watching Rodgers, conduct focus groups. She ended up conducting two focus groups on her own.
“She absorbed the research, connected with the topic, and demonstrated her knowledge and passions stellarly,” Rodgers said.
Martinez also learned how to apply for and receive an internal grant, a rare opportunity for students.
All of these skills — enthusiasm, preparation and interest in the topic — clearly came across to the Grad Slam judges, Rodgers said.
“You can tell when someone has a passion for something. It shows,” Rodgers said. “And I think that moved them.”
Martinez aspires to be a licensed psychologist, possibly doing trauma-informed work in the hospital that just reopened in her hometown of Madera.
She credits much of her research success to Rodgers, who after hearing of Martinez’s interest in a doctoral program advised her to keep an eye out for competitions and conferences, boosted her confidence and allowed her to shine on her own when she needed to.
The relationship grew from a single conversation between the two women, so Martinez encouraged other students to connect with their faculty early. In her case, early connection was important because her program only spans two years.
“That one conversation,” Martinez said, “changed the trajectory of my life.”
