Davar Ardalan

Davar Ardalan
Iran Davar Ardalan
Born
Iran Davar Ardalan

(1964-04-01) April 1, 1964 (age 60)
San Francisco, California
Alma materUniversity of New Mexico, B.A. in communications and journalism
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, journalist, author
Years active1991-present
Known forMy Name is Iran (book), Tell Me More, Weekend Edition
SpouseJohn Oliver Smith
Parents
Family
Davar Ardalan pictured with IVOW team in Geneva, Switzerland
Davar Ardalan pictured with IVOW team in Geneva, Switzerland

Iran Davar Ardalan (born April 1, 1964)[1] is a tech entrepreneur, journalist, and author based in Washington, D.C. Known as Davar Ardalan, she is the founder of TulipAI,[2] former Executive Producer of Audio at National Geographic,[3] and has served as co-chair of the Cultural Heritage and AI track at ITU's AI for Good. Prior to this, she was deputy director of the White House Presidential Innovation Fellowship Program in Washington, D.C. She was also a long-time journalist at NPR News,[4] where she helped shape the news shows Weekend Edition and Morning Edition, and was responsible for decisions that required elaborate coordination such as live broadcasts from Baghdad, Kabul, and New Orleans. Ardalan is an advocate for cross-platform storytelling. At NPR, her real-time storytelling campaigns cultivated thought leaders across platforms and reached millions on Twitter and Facebook.

At TulipAI, Ardalan has presented a variety of AI-powered initiatives that encompass cultural, ethical, and technological dimensions. One such initiative is the AI Assistant for podcasts, an example of which is CK, an AI digital assistant that co-hosts the "Long Sought" podcast. This assistant enables listeners to delve into historical data and stories, integrating past narratives with contemporary AI features. As of October 2023, CK supports multilingual interactions, though it restricts user messages to ten per session due to ecological and computational considerations.

Another TulipAI project, "Soundscapes," focuses on producing audio content that is both ethically sourced and culturally diverse, and uses a profit-sharing model to encourage sustainability and ethical practices in audio production.

"Laleh AI" is designed to preserve the teachings and insights of the late Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar through an interactive AI experience that aims to blend respect for past wisdom with the technological advancements of the future.

Outside of TulipAI, Ardalan supports the “Zabanzad" project, overseen by Dr. Vahid Behzadan at the University of New Haven's SAIL Lab. This venture integrates technological advancements with Persian linguistic and cultural elements, aiming to develop an AI model tailored for the Iranian diaspora.

From 2018 to 2022, Ardalan was the founder and chief storytelling officer at IVOW (Intelligent Voices of Wisdom), which champions culturally conscious data strategies across multiple industries, from academia to development and enterprise.[5][6] In April 2021, Project Voice awarded IVOW the Google Developer of the Year and a medal for Diversity and Inclusion.[7]

Ardalan has also served as Managing Editor at Hanson Robotics, and is a member of the AI for Good Brain Trust, composed of an international panel of innovators and thinkers from industry, United Nations (UN) agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), civil society, the UN's member states, academia, start-ups, media and the arts who assist in identifying initiatives aimed at using AI to advance the UN SDGs.[8]

Davar Ardalan has been recognized with a NASA Team Leadership award for Space Apps, two NABJ Awards, a Gracie Award from the American Women in Radio and Television and a shout-out in the comic strip Zippy.[4] In May 2014, she was the recipient of an Ellis Island Medal of Honor, for individual achievement and for promoting cultural unity.[9][10]

She is the author of two books, My Name is Iran and The Persian Square.[11]

  1. ^ Ardalan, Davar (May 9, 2014). "How A Persian-American Love Story Got Its Start In Harlem". ncpr. North Country Public Radio. Retrieved November 28, 2021. Iran Davar Ardalan was born in San Francisco on April 1, 1964 (baby in the photo).
  2. ^ "TulipAI". TulipAI. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  3. ^ "Get to Know the Executive Producer of 'Overheard'". National Geographic Partners. October 25, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Davar Ardalan". HuffPost. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  5. ^ Ibaraki, Stephen. "Artificial Intelligence For Good: Preserving Our Cultural Heritage". Forbes. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  6. ^ Cipolle, Alex V. (March 22, 2022). "How Native Americans Are Trying to Debug A.I.'s Biases". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  7. ^ "Project Voice Awards". Project Voice. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  8. ^ "AI for Good Brain Trust". AI for Good. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Congressional Record, Volume 160 Issue 129 (Wednesday, September 10, 2014)". www.govinfo.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  11. ^ "A Multimedia Journey Through 'The Persian Square'". NPR.org. March 4, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2018.