Thomaz Bonato

About Me
Hi I’m Thomaz! I am originally from Brazil, but I grew up moving around which has given me a love for exploring different cultures. I have been interested in tech and programming since I was 13, but outside of that, I’m a huge fan of tennis, basketball, and staying active with lifting and outdoor adventures. I enjoy reading philosophy, considering ethical debates, and learning about the mind by reading books. Most importantly, I enjoy balancing my time between nature and the digital world through hikes, nature walks, and outdoor sports.

What are some of your key professional/career interests?
Currently, my professional interests include data science and entrepreneurship specifically in AI safety, ethics, and sustainability. I'm passionate about exploring how models can be safely and ethically incorporated into society, especially given the increasing energy consumption and the potential risks (both ethical and societal) they pose if mishandled. Looking ahead, I’m interested in carving my own path in entrepreneurship, research, or data science to help address these challenges!

What are some of your skills?
Programming, computer vision, web development, machine learning, NLP, project management (let me know if you'd like others or formatted differently)

What are some relevant classes/coursework you have taken?
ITP 449 Machine Learning ITP 216 Applied Programming in Python BUAD 312 Statistics & Data Science Calculus I & II Linear Algebra for Machine Learning (DeepLearning.ai online course) Neural Networks and Deep Learning (DeepLearning.ai online course)

What are some of your projects or achievements?
HackMIT 2024 1st Place -- Education Track: made a sign language learning platform that uses computer vision to teach ASL
PennApps 2024 2nd Place -- Safety Track: made a gesture-based multi-factor authentication system that used AI + FaceID to verify the user.
SageAI -- Built an AI legal tech startup (no longer working on it though)
Data science intern @ data mining company -- learned to fine tune AI models and make my own, realized how important clean, useful, "good" data really is
Also currently working on an AI sustainability startup