Guest Prof. Dr. Mrinalini Kochupillai

Curriculum Vitae

• June 2020 - Present, Guest Professor and Core Scientist, Ethics Group Lead, AI4EO Future Lab.

• June 2020 - Present, Affiliated Senior Researcher, Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence, Technical University of Munich.

• June 2013 - Present, Faculty, Munich Intellectual Property Law Center, Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition, Munich

• 2018 – 2019, Lecturer & Senior Research Associate, Chair of Business Ethics, Technical University of Munich.

• Jan – Aug 2019, Consultant/Lead Author and Co-Principal Investigator, Sustainable Seed Innovation Project 2.0, Funded by the Research England Global Challenges Research Fund

• 2014 – 2018, Senior Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition (MPI), Munich, Germany

• 2016 – 2018, Co-Principal Investigator, International Development and Intellectual Property Project, Funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council

• 2014 – 2017, Program Director, LL.M. Program in Intellectual Property and Competition Law, MIPLC

Research Interests

• Legal and ethical in emerging technologies, especially Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Applications

• Blockchain-based incentive systems

• Sustainable agriculture

• Intellectual Property Law

• Business Ethics

Research Awards, Grants and Scholarships

Competitive Collaborative Research Grants/Awards

• 2022, Munich Science Communication Lab, Team Member, Project: “Die Erde unter dem Mikroskop (The Earth under the microscope)”; funding to set-up an interactive exhibit on Planetary Health and Food Security titled (As part of a team lead by Tobias Beuchert, German Aerospace Center)

• 2019, Research England, Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) 
  Co-Principal Investigator and Lead Author, “International Development and Intellectual Property Project 2.0” (with the University of Leeds and the Art of Living Foundation)

• 2016 – 2017, Translating Cultures/Care for the Future Innovation Awards on International  Development, Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC), UK 
  Co-Principal Investigator, “International Development and Intellectual Property” (With the University of Leeds and the International Art of Living Foundation)

• 2008 – 2009, Research and Consultancy Grant (as Principal Investigator & author) International Technology Transfer Institute,
  University of New Hampshire, Concord, NH, USA to compile a research report titled, “Developing Effective University/ Industry/ Government Partnerships in Key Economies: Engineering More Innovative Environments” ($10,000).

Scholarships

• 2009 – 2013, Doctoral Fellow and Scholar, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition

• 2008 – 2009, Scholarship for Independent Research, Munich Intellectual Property Law Center

Selected Publications

• Kochupillai, M*., M. Kahl, M. Schmitt, H. Taubenböck, XX. Zhu. 2022. Earth Observation and Artificial Intelligence: Understanding Emerging Ethical Issues and Opportunities. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine 2022

• Zhu, XX, Y. Wang, M. Kochupillai, M. Werner, M. Häberle, et al. 2022. Geo-Information Harvesting from Social Media Data, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine (in press)

• Kochupillai, M*., U. Gallersdörfer, J. Köninger and R. Beck. 2021. Incentivizing Research and Innovation with Agrobiodiversity Conserved In Situ: Possibilities and Limitations of a Blockchain Based Solution. Journal of Cleaner Production 309 (2021) 127155.

• Kochupillai, M.* and J. Köninger. 2022. "Cast into the Stones of International Law: A Critique of the UPOV Standards and the Underlying Welfare and Scientific Assumptions they Globalize." In H.G Ruse-Khan and A. Metzger Eds. Intellectual Property Ordering Beyond Borders. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (Open Access).

• Kochupillai, M.*, C. Lütge and F. Poszler. 2020. "Programming Away Human Rights and Responsibilities? The Moral Machine Experiment and the Need for a More Humane AVs Future." Nanoethics 14:285-299 (Open Access). 

• Brinkmann, J. and M. Kochupillai. 2020. "Law, Business and Legitimacy" In J. D. Rendtorff Ed., Handbook of Business Legitimacy: Responsibility, Ethics and Society. Switzerland: Springer Nature.

• Kochupillai, M.* and J. Köninger. 2022. "Creating a Digital Marketplace for Agrobiodiversity and Plant Genetic Sequence Data: Legal and Ethical Considerations of an AI and Blockchain Based Solution." In  H. Williamson and S. Leonelli Eds. Towards Responsible Plant Data Linkage: Global Challenges for Food Security and Governance. Springer Nature.

• Kochupillai, M. 2021. Outline of a Novel Approach for Identifying Ethical Issues in Early Stages of AI4EO Research, Conference paper for the IEEE’s International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), July 2021.

• Julia Köninger, Emanuele Lugato, Panos Panagos, Mrinalini Kochupillai, Alberto Orgiazzi, Maria JI Briones (2021). Manure Management and Soil Biodiversity: Towards More Sustainable Food Systems in the EU. Agricultural Systems, 194, pp. 103251

• Kochupillai, M. 2020. “Blockchain for Equitable and Sustainable Agriculture: What is Blockchain, its Benefits and Common Uses.” EuropeanSeed (April 2020)

• Kochupillai, M. 2020. “Blockchain for Biodiversity: The Benefits for the Environment and for Farmers.” EuropeanSeed (April 2020)

• Kochupillai, M. 2019. “Is UPOV 1991 a Good Fit for Developing Countries?” In J. Drexl and A.K. Sanders Eds. The Innovation Society and Intellectual Property. Cheltenham, UK; Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.

• Kochupillai, M. 2016. Promoting Sustainable Innovations in Plant Varieties Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Nature.

 

Recent Talks and Conference Presentations

Guest Lectures/Invited Talks: 

• Identifying Ethical Issues and Opportunities in AI4EO Research: A Novel Framework for Academic Researchers, Invited talk for the "City and Society" Team, German Aerospace Center, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany (Online) 02 December 2021. 

• On the Practical Side: Working Ethics and Human Rights into AI and Earth Observations Research, Keynote Address, Autumn School Geo.X Young Academy, FU Berlin (Online) 17 November 2021. 

• Incentivizing Conservation, Research and Innovation with Agrobiodiversity: Can a Blokchain Based Solution Overcome Existing Market and Regulatory Failures? Women in Science Talk, PhenoRob (Robotics and Phenotyping for Sustainable Crop Production), University of Bonn (Online) 24 September 2021

• Biodiversity and Emerging Technologies, Invited Talk for School Children in Mumbai, India, Hosted by Coding and More (Online ) 18 September 2021 

• AI for Sustainable Food and Agriculture, Invited talk for Middle School Students, Cathedral and John Connon Middle School, Mumbai, India (Online), 30 July 2021

Conference Presentations and Panel Discussions

• Seed Panel on “Development: Towards ‘Oneness’ in thought and ‘Mindfulness’ in Action” selected for the European Association of Development Research and Training Institute’s EADICEs General Conference 2023: Towards New Rhythms of Development, July 2023, Lisbon, Portugal.

• Invited Panel Chair, Session: Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Alexander von Humboldt’s 12^th Brazil-German Frontiers of Science and Technology Symposium, Maceo, Brazil, 29 June – 2 July 2022.

• Invited Poster Presentation, Big Data for (Agro)Biodiversity: Ethics, Incentives and DLTs, Alexander von Humboldt’s 12^th Brazil-German Frontiers of Science and Technology Symposium, Maceo, Brazil, 29 June – 2 July 2022

• Invited Panel Chair and Speaker, AI in Agriculture: Ethical Concerns and Responsible Solutions, George Mason University and the Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence, Technical University of Munich, 22 June 2022

• Invited Panelist, Panel: Explainable AI, in ML4Earth xAI Workshop co-organized by Technical University of Munich and Helmholtz AI, Munich, Germany, 22 November 2022

• Invited Panelist, Panel: Innovations in Agriculture – How to Sustainably Feed a Growing Population, in the 2^nd Annual Conference of the Indo-German Centre for Business Excellence, Frankfurt, Germany, 22 September 2022

• Invited Panelist, Panel: Fairness, Bias, Law and Trustworthiness in AI, Helmholz AI Conference 2022, 2 June 2022

• Looking Beyond Duties and Consequences: Can Eastern Philosophy Based Approaches Support Ethically Mindful AI Research? The Responsible AI Forum, (Online) 06 December 2021. 

• "Sustainability Workshop" Sustainability and UN Sustainable Development Goals, Presentation for school students at the Ada Lovelace Girls in AI Hackathon, India (Online), 09 October 2021 

• Outline of a Novel Approach for Identifying Ethical Issues in Early Stages of AI4EO Research, IEEE’s International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 15 July 2021. 

• Moderator for expert panel on Promoting Student Resilience in Universities: Solutions to the Mental Health Crisis, in the conference: "Changing Paradigms in a Pandemic World: How to Regain Trust - Health Happiness and Ethics" organized by the World Forum for Ethics in Business on World Health Day (Online) 07 April 2021. 

• Creating a Digital Marketplace for Agrobiodiversity and Plant Genetic Sequence Data: Legal and Ethical Considerations of an AI and Blockchain Based Solution, in the conference: "Towards Responsible Plant Data Linkage: Global Challenges for Food Security and Governance" co-organized by the Alan Turing Institute and University of Exeter (Online), 19 March 2021

Interviews and Public Outreach

• Interviewed by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) on my research interests and current role in the Artificial Intelligence for Earth Observation (AI4EO) Future Lab (October 2022): Alte Weisheit, neues Wissen – Forschung zur Ethik in der KI (in German); Ancient Wisdom, New Knowledge – Research on ethics in AI (In English)

• Interviewed by Fabian Böck (August 2021): How AI Ethics Is Opening Up New Opportunities

• Interviewed by Asumpta Lattus (2019-20) Talking About Blockchain, Female One Zero

• Kochupillai, M. and G. Radick. 2019. “A Wake Up Call on Proprietary Seeds.” (Opinion-Editorial). The Hindu (Indian National Newspaper)

• With funding acquired from the UK Global Challenges Research Fund (partners: the University of Leeds and Indian NGO Art of Living Foundation) I served as lead author for a White Paper for the Government of India titled: “Incentivizing and Promoting Sustainable Seed Innovations in India: A Three-Pronged Approach” (July 2019)

• My efforts to raise awareness about ‘Sustainable Seed Innovations’ and/or how blockchain can help, have been mentioned 4 times in India’s National newspaper and in popular magazines, for example:

  • Harshini Vakkalanka 2017. “Old Seeds for New” The Hindu (Indian National Newspaper) (September 2017)

  • Smitha Menon 2019. “Just How Sustainable is India’s Farm-to-Table Movement?” Conde Nast Traveller (October 2019)

Courses

• Ethics Segment in the Seminar Course: Data Science in Earth Observation (XX Zhu) (Seminar Course, Technical University of Munich)

• Blockchain: Law and Ethics (Seminar Course, Technical University of Munich).

• Legal and Ethical Considerations in Sustainable Agriculture (Seminar Course, Technical University of Munich) 

• Asian Patent Law (Elective Course, Munich Intellectual Property Law Center)

Volunteer Work for the TUM Community

I offer stress management, positive mental health, and well-being workshops for students and staff of TUM via TUM4Mind and the TUM Institute for Lifelong Learning.