Edge Rewrite
pun Source code View original
Jump to content

// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Frida E. Polli a painter? Poll-i think so.

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frida E. Polli is an Italian-British-American neuroscientist. She is currently Visiting Innovation Scholar at the Schwarzman College of Computing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Previously, she was the co-founder and CEO of pymetrics, a company that develops behavioral assessment tools for hiring, and a cognitive neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and MIT.

Education

[edit]

Polli received her B.A from Dartmouth College with Honors in 1994, and completed pre-medical postbaccalaureate training at Dartmouth and Havard from 1994-1996. She earned a Ph.D. from Suffolk University in 2007, and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2012.[1]

Career

[edit]

Polli began her academic career as a predoctoral research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital's Psychiatric Neuroimaging Group / Martinos Biomedical Imaging Center. She was then a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[2]

In 2013, Polli launched pymetrics, a company that applied artificial intelligence and behavioral science to workforce decision-making, with a former MIT colleague.[3][4] As a 38-year-old single mother, she stated she did not fit the typical profile of a technology startup founder.[5][6] She said the company allowed her to "put her scientific and academic knowledge to work to build a business solving real world problems".[7] The company had the stated aim of modernizing hiring with neuroscience-based assessments and machine learning, with Polli arguing that algorithmic systems can reduce bias in hiring if properly designed and audited by emphasizing a philosophy of evaluating potential over pedigree.[8][9][10][11] It was included in several industry lists including CNBC Upstart 100 (2018),[12] the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers (2018),[13] Forbes AI 50 (2019),[14] and Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Startup (2019).[15] The company was acquired by Harver in 2022, after which she became its chief data science officer.[16]

In 2021, Polli lobbied for New York City legislation requiring audits of automated employment software for bias.[17][18][19] From 2020 to 2022, Polli was part of an industry group aimed at lessening the disruptive impact of COVID on the workforce through technology.[20] In 2023, Polli founded Alethia AI, a company focused on ethical AI application.[21] In 2024, Polli became Visiting Innovation Scholar at the Schwarzmann College of Computing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[22] In 2025, she founded the Female Medicine Through Machine Learning initiative at MIT focused on women's health research using large datasets and AI.[23][24]

Awards and honours

[edit]

In 2010, she won a Young Investigator Award from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. In 2011, she was finalist in the MIT 100K Entrepreneur Competition.[22] In 2012, Polli received a Robert S. Kaplan Life Sciences Fellowship from Harvard Business School.[25] Polli was named as one of Inc.'s Female Founders 100 in 2019, and Entrepreneur's Top 100 Powerful Women in 2020.[22][26][27] In 2021, she was in Fast Company's World Changing Ideas.[28] In 2022, she was inducted into YPO.[22]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "'Follow what fascinates you. And don't wait for permission.'". Suffolk.edu. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  2. ↑ "Why Entrepreneur Frida Polli Chose Tech Over Science". Wall Street Journal. 2019-11-08. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  3. ↑ "Unique engineering education leads to HR startup pymetrics". Waterloo News. 2015-10-16. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  4. ↑ Lawler, Ryan (2013-12-18). "With $2.5 Million From Khosla Ventures, Pymetrics Launches A Game-Based Campus Recruiting Tool". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  5. ↑ "This Neuroscientist and CEO Wants You to Play Games to Find Your Dream Career". ELLE. 2017-02-08. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  6. ↑ Zipkin, Nina (2018-06-29). "This Single Mom Turned Tech Entrepreneur Shares How She Rose Above Self-Doubt". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  7. ↑ "pymetrics: Early Days - Case - Faculty & Research - Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  8. ↑ Roose, Kevin (2017-12-27). "Some Things About Tech Were Good in 2017. No, Really". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  9. ↑ Constine, Josh (2017-09-20). "Pymetrics attacks discrimination in hiring with AI and recruiting games". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  10. ↑ "People are terrible judges of talent. Can algorithms do better?". Quartz. 2019-11-19. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  11. ↑ Aspan, Maria. "A.I. is transforming the job interview—and everything after". Fortune. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  12. ↑ staff, CNBC com (2017-02-28). "14. Pymetrics". CNBC. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  13. ↑ "Meet the 2018 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on 2026-03-21. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  14. ↑ D'Onfro, Jillian (2019-09-17). "AI 50: America's Most Promising Artificial Intelligence Companies". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  15. ↑ "Pymetrics". Inc.
  16. ↑ "Soft Skills Assessment Pymetrics Acquired By Harver – AlleyWatch". Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  17. ↑ Evdokimova, Tamara (2025-04-21). "Taking the Fight for Equality into the AI Era | Harvard Magazine". www.harvardmagazine.com. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  18. ↑ O'brien, Matt (2021-11-19). "NYC aims to be first to rein in AI hiring tools". AP News. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  19. ↑ McDade, Aaron (2021-11-19). "NYC Wants to Ban Employers From Using Automated Hiring Tools to Curb Discrimination". Newsweek. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  20. ↑ Dillow, Clay. "To future-proof a workforce, kill the perpetual hiring machine and embrace lifelong learning". Fortune. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  21. ↑ "Multiverse and Alethia on a New Era for Human Capital". Bloomberg. 2023-10-23. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  22. 1 2 3 4 "MIT Schwarzman College of Computing welcomes Frida Polli as visiting innovation scholar". MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2024-12-19. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  23. ↑ "Menopause Care Has Long Been Overlooked—But New Research and Innovations Promise a Bright Tomorrow". Oprah Daily. 2026-01-29. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  24. ↑ Mosbergen, Dominique. "Ovaries Could Unlock Secrets of Longevity". TIME. Archived from the original on 2026-01-14. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  25. ↑ "Give a Rouse | Dartmouth Alumni Magazine". dartmouthalumnimagazine.com. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  26. ↑ "100 Powerful Women of 2020". Entrepreneur. 2020-10-06. Archived from the original on 2026-02-14. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  27. ↑ "These 23 Women Are Making Money by Fixing the Problems No One Else Could SeeThese entrepreneurs on Inc.'s Female Founders 100 are creating the solutions you didn't know you needed". Inc. 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  28. ↑ Staff, Fast Company (2021-05-04). "World Changing Ideas Awards 2021: Politics and Policy Finalists and Honorable Mentions". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2024-08-06. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frida_E._Polli&oldid=1366471889"