Why women need to be involved in AI

AI is the future. We hear that all day, every day, and it certainly feels true. Where do women fit in that future? I vote we use the changing landscape of the tech industry as a platform to forge to the forefront of innovation. Women comprise 49.7% of the world population and only 22% of the AI workforce. This gap is more than just a startling number. It means that models are being built with unconscious bias. 

AI is ultimately instructed by humans. The datasets that a model trains shape its perspective and subsequent decision-making tendencies. And this has already started to take effect. A study by finance company Finder asked DALL-E to generate 100 images based on prompts like “a successful CEO” or “a finance worker”. 99 of these 100 synthetic images were of men.

Another instance of a flawed model was Amazon’s failed AI recruiting system, which trained itself to give an advantage to male candidates. This bias occurred naturally since it was fed data based on hiring patterns from the last ten years, which showed a majority of successful male prospects.

Beyond model bias, AI leadership is leaving no room for female influence. Sam Altman’s newly structured board at OpenAI is all male. If women have no seat at the table, how will technology fit the needs of the entire global population?

It quite literally can’t. Now more than ever, it is important for women to be involved in AI development. Our ability to penetrate a male-dominated field in the present will shape the trajectory of our future.