Kehan (Sky) Sheng
PhD Student
Dairy Cattle
About
I’m passionate about using AI to empower minorities and marginalized communities in gaining technical skills, and developing AI solutions to address real-world challenges. As a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia Animal Welfare Program, I conduct interdisciplinary research bridging Animal Welfare Science, Data Science, AI Bias and Applications. My previous research focused on advancing automated methods for behavior monitoring, redefining dominance hierarchy calculations, creating novel approaches for lameness detection, and understanding behavioral baselines for individual animals from sensor data. Currently, my work explores the representation bias of livestock farming in generative AI. While I don’t have all the right answers to biases in AI, I wish to foster more diverse representation and perspectives in AI development. I believe it’s crucial that we don’t lose the voices of those not in power and make them invisible behind numeric machines through coded gaze. I recognize that ethical AI application includes knowing not using AI is also an option.
Education & Awards
BSc in Animal Science, Minor in Computer Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Total Research Funding Secured during PhD: $72,254 CAD
Total Scholarship Awarded during PhD: $31,485 CAD
EAAP Early Career Researcher Award – First Place
Dairy Farmers of Canada My Dairy Research Student Competition – First Place ($1,500 CAD)
Pei-Huang Tung and Tan-Wen Tung Graduate Fellowship (2021: $16,000 CAD; 2024: $3,550 CAD)