Dr. Vivienne Ming is a theoretical neuroscientist and inventor. She’s founded 6 startups, been chief scientist at 3 others, and founded The Human Trust, a philanthropic data trust and “mad science incubator” that explores seemingly intractable problems for free. 

Her inventions include the first AI for diabetes, models of bias in hiring and promotion, neurotechnologies to treat dementia, bipolar disorder, and TBI, AI to reunite orphan refugees with extended family members, and the first ever biological test for postpartum depression. 

She co-founded Socos Labs, where machine learning and cognitive neuroscience are utilized to maximize students’ life outcomes. Vivienne has also published research on AI in education and developed “Muse,” a machine learning-based tool for parents that recommends activities to support young people’s creativity, motivation, and emotional intelligence.

In addition to her work at Socos, Vivienne is a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley’s Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, where she conducts research in neuroprosthetics. In her personal time, she developed a predictive model for managing her diabetic son’s glucose levels and systems to predict manic episodes in bipolar sufferers.

Vivienne sits on the boards of StartOut, The Palm Center, Emozia, and the Bay Area Rainbow Daycamp and serves as an advisor to Credit Suisse, Cornerstone Capital, and BayesImpact. A vocal advocate for LGBT inclusion and gender equality in technology, she resides in Berkeley, CA, with her wife and co-founder and their two children.

Her upcoming book is Robot-Proof: When Machines Know Everything, Become a Problem Maker.