Team
Mallory Whitt is a computer science student at Auburn University and an exchange student at THWS in Würzburg, Germany. A former intern in the U.S. House of Representatives and cybersecurity researcher at Auburn University, her interests center on the democratic health of information systems, digital society, algorithmic bias and online radicalization, and technology policy. She is committed to the development of digital platforms that are safer, more accountable, and oriented toward the public good.
Dylan Freeman is a computer science student at Auburn University with a concentration in artificial intelligence engineering. His interests center on algorithmic bias in social systems, examining how algorithms in government and private institutions rely on historical datasets that can encode and replicate systemic inequities in policing, credit, housing, and employment. He is also committed to expanding computer science education in underserved communities, drawing on his experience growing up in Dothan, Alabama.
Andrew Abercrombie is a software engineering student at Auburn University pursuing Auburn's AI certification. His interests center on AI's applications across industries, particularly in the arts, and on how technology can be used to serve clear public benefit. He is drawn to questions of online culture and social networks, and what healthier relationships with technology could look like. That curiosity carries into his life off-screen as well. He has been deeply involved in community outreach and engagement, and brings that same passion for bringing people together to his role in ADCS.
Chris Armstrong is a computer science and political science student at Auburn University pursuing the "Cyber Defense" and "National Security and Intelligence" certificates, and works as a web developer at Auburn's Office of Information Technology improving websites' accessibility and UX. His interests center on how cybersecurity will be integrated into the United States' national security posture, with a focus on protecting critical operational technology systems. He is committed to bridging computer science and government to ensure technological developments are properly regulated and serve the public good.
Camden Awtrey is an applied mathematics student at Auburn University with concentrations in data science and discrete mathematics. His interests center on how data infrastructure shapes geopolitical power, from undersea cable networks and data centers to the trade policies and surveillance systems that control information flow between countries. He is especially concerned with how institutions define metrics behind global governance and what happens when those go unchecked. He believes data science students deserve more than narrow corporate pipelines, and hopes to help build avenues where analytically minded people can do work that matters.
David Wheeler is a computer science student at Auburn University pursuing a bachelor's in computer science, a master's in cyber security, and certificates in artificial intelligence and cyber defense. His interests center on administrative misuse of AI, its rapid and increasingly unregulated growth, and its impact on public discourse and security. Growing up in an increasingly polarized Alabama, he has witnessed how AI amplifies misinformation and is used to keep the public angry and afraid. He seeks a future where technology serves the public good rather than those who control it.