# Alessandra Sala

Co-chair, UNESCO Women for Ethical AI & senior director of AI and data science, Shutterstock. TIME100 AI 2026, Shapers. Her father got an AI voicemail that sounded exactly like her sister; she now represents Shutterstock in a group writing standards to tackle deepfakes. ([time.com](https://time.com/collection/time100-ai/2026/alessandra-sala/))

- Born: Amalfi, Italy ([time.com](https://time.com/collection/time100-ai/2026/alessandra-sala/), [kids.kiddle.co](https://kids.kiddle.co/Alessandra_Sala))
- Education: PhD, Computer science, University of Salerno, 2008; Laurea, Computer science, University of Salerno, 2004 ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/salaalessandra))
- Career: Shutterstock (Senior Director of AI and Data Science, 2020–2026); Women in AI (Global President, from 2019); Nokia Bell Labs (Head of Analytics Research, 2012–2020); UC Santa Barbara (Research Associate, 2008–2012) ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/salaalessandra), [investor.shutterstock.com](https://investor.shutterstock.com/news-releases/news-release-details/dr-alessandra-sala-named-2026-time100-ai-list), [aiforgood.itu.int](https://aiforgood.itu.int/speaker/alessandra-sala/))
- TIME profile: https://time.com/collection/time100-ai/2026/alessandra-sala/
- Profile: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/most-influential-people-in-ai/alessandra-sala

- Her father got an AI-generated voicemail that sounded exactly like her sister, and it nearly fooled the family. ([time.com](https://time.com/collection/time100-ai/2026/alessandra-sala/))
- Chairs a collaboration that brings ISO, IEC, ITU and other standards bodies together on a common response to deepfakes. ([aiforgood.itu.int](https://aiforgood.itu.int/speaker/alessandra-sala/))
- As global president of the nonprofit Women in AI, she leads a community of women across 150 countries. ([aiforgood.itu.int](https://aiforgood.itu.int/speaker/alessandra-sala/))
- Spent eight years at Bell Labs, rising from research scientist to head of analytics research, leading teams in several locations. ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/salaalessandra))
- Warns that when models see few examples of women, "this information gets forgotten very early." ([time.com](https://time.com/collection/time100-ai/2026/alessandra-sala/))