Empowering Responsible AI Management | Dawn S Talbot

Dawn excels at converting challenges into opportunities, a testament to her visionary leadership can be seen through her company, Tevoro. Loosely inspired by Fijian folklore, where a “tevoro” is an evil hidden spirit that invokes fear, Tevoro Corp. is designed to eliminate the fear of AI “monsters” poised to override corporate values. They provide corporations with a methodology to create AI self-governance that is consistent for both digital and human beings.

Tevoro Corp. is dedicated to empowering responsible AI management. Dawn’s goal is to offer everyone—from employees to executives and their Board of Directors—a conceptual framework for correcting AI behavior using consistent, machine-readable incentives. By demystifying AI and providing clear guidelines for its ethical and effective use, Tevoro aims to transform fear into understanding and control, ensuring that AI is a positive force within organizations.

Visionary Leadership

Dawn is driven by an unwavering commitment to enhancing her clients’ objectives. This dedication ensures that every project she undertakes is aligned with creating maximum impact and value. Her approach to problem-solving and innovation consistently prioritizes client needs, making her a trusted partner in achieving their goals. Dawn leverages her profound understanding of technology to develop unique and effective solutions. Her ability to foresee and apply technological trends creatively has consistently placed her ahead of the curve. For instance, in the 1980s, she pioneered a scripting class for Fortune 500 executives, demystifying technology for senior leaders and enabling them to harness its potential.

Her early career highlights include groundbreaking projects such as:

• Interactive Video Kiosks: Designed to assist college recruiters in diversifying and extending their reach, demonstrating her foresight in using technology to solve recruitment challenges.
• Global Software Solutions: Developed software enabling assembly line workers to provide real-time design feedback to executives on another continent, showcasing her knack for improving communication and operational efficiency.

These projects honed her technical skills and taught her invaluable lessons in managing specialized workers, coordinating international teams, and presenting complex technical concepts to executive management.

In the 1990s, Dawn transitioned to Wall Street, rapidly ascending from systems engineer to Banker, Analyst, and Co-Portfolio Manager. Dawn established her credibility through meticulous research and strategic insights, whether as a team member or in leadership roles.

Overall, Dawn’s unique blend of visionary leadership, technological expertise, and relentless drive to add value has contributed to fostering environments of innovation, trust, and excellence.

Becoming An Inspiration

Mentorship has been a cornerstone of Dawn’s professional development. When she joined corporate finance, she benefited from a sophisticated mentor program where each new entrant was assigned a mentor. This system ensured that any mistakes made by a mentee reflected not only their career but also their mentor’s professional reputation. “After two years, I was entrusted with mentoring a young new banker, subject to the same reputational accountability,” says Dawn. “I believe these mentorship traditions are crucial, and their absence in AI management structures is something Tevoro aims to address. Mentorship is vital to me because it drives growth, accountability, and innovation.” In today’s evolving landscape, Dawn encourages professionals to think beyond conventional boundaries and embrace the idea that their leadership can extend to AI, shaping it to align with human values and ethical standards. This approach promotes responsible AI development and ensures that technological advancements enhance rather than undermine societal goals.

Tevoro strives to instill the same values of accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement in human and AI interactions, paving the way for a future where technology and humanity thrive together.

Enhancing Blockchain

Blockchain is not infallible, but it is a technique that has captured the imagination of financial innovators. Dawn often compares blockchain to the Wall Street “ticker tape, “ which records validated transactions while anonymizing the parties involved. However, it does not inherently provide accountability for the underlying financial instruments.

Her initial foray into blockchain involved studying its vulnerabilities and understanding how it could be compromised. This foundational knowledge allowed me to assist clients in creating innovation labs where AI and blockchain could be integrated to form financial instrument assembly lines. These labs became hubs of innovation, exploring the potential of blockchain to revolutionize financial processes.

In 2020, Dawn co-authored a book titled “Redefining the Future of the Economy: Governance Blocks & Economic Architecture,” which introduced a case study using mathematics to represent human check-and-balance systems in machine-readable form, thus providing a framework for more accountable and transparent financial systems.

“I later developed the Tevoro methodology to help organizations identify self-governance patterns within their own structures. This methodology advocates for creating standards that translate human behavioral incentives into machine-readable formats for AI,” explains Dawn. “I believe this is just the first step in a vast new area of management in the AI era. By establishing these standards, we can ensure that AI systems are aligned with human values and ethical considerations, paving the way for more robust and trustworthy AI applications in the financial sector and beyond. Through my work, I aim to enhance the accountability and functionality of these technologies, ensuring they serve as reliable tools for innovation and economic development.”

Building A Better Future

One of Dawn’s most significant achievements stems from her revolutionary approach to career development, which is based on pattern identification, puzzle solving, and framing the appropriate questions to address those puzzles. Instead of following a traditional, vertical career path, she embarked on a horizontal journey, gaining broad industry expertise through direct participation in various roles.

Her unique career path led Dawn to propose translating text-based IPO self-governance policies into machine-readable combinatorial optimization patterns. This innovation is intended to empower others to seek similar patterns, and she believes that adding AI oversight to executive duties is essential.

One of Dawn’s ongoing goals is to refine and promote the self-governance model, especially within zero-trust environments like Wall Street and Blockchain. While these concepts are complex, she aims to make them accessible and practical for leaders managing AI effectively. By continuing to develop and advocate for these frameworks, Dawn strives to help leaders create environments where AI and human values coexist harmoniously, ultimately enhancing organizational effectiveness and ethical integrity.

The future holds a lifelong quest for discovery, both professionally and personally, for Dawn. “On the professional front, I am dedicated to advancing technical structures that encode “human values” for AI consumption. This involves developing frameworks and methodologies that ensure AI systems operate ethically and align with human principles,” says Dawn. “On the personal front, I have expanded my quest for discovery to include organic structures. I am currently working towards obtaining a Master Gardener certification. This certification deepens my understanding of horticulture and includes volunteering efforts to help others achieve food security.”

Whether developing ethical AI systems or promoting food security, Dawn strives to create environments where technology and nature can thrive in harmony.