The future of AI is female! 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the world as we know it. But there is a severe lack of women in AI. How can we make sure that the future of AI will be equal? 

With AI set to make a massive global impact, several steps need to be taken to redress the imbalance. 

Unconscious bias

It is very important that AI teams embrace the concept of internal diversity. Every person is biased, whether they like it or not. Unconscious bias is an inalienable part of human nature.

Google’s AI research pages and noted that only 10 percent of the 641 people working on “machine intelligence” were women. Few people in AI expect the proportion of women or ethnic minorities in their field to grow very swiftly. (Wired, 2018) 

Like all tech, AI is an extension of its creator. When predominantly male teams work on AI, the technology that shapes our future may inherit their biases. We are likely to let AI make our decisions for us in the near future. Therefore it is important that women are a bigger part of AI if this is the case. 

When technology is developed to meet the needs of a diverse audience, that diversity needs to be reflected by the people involved. Only by building diverse teams can we create AI that is inclusive and balanced.

Role models

With so few women in the industry, speaker panels become male-dominated. This can have a negative impact as women may be put off. Male-dominated speakers may be an accurate representation of gender within the industry, but this fails to think about the impact of the next generation. The lack of women conference speakers makes it hard for female students, graduates, and career starters to picture themselves excelling in the AI industry. 

AI skills gap

There is a rising demand for new talent in AI, according to Stanford University’s AI Index, the share of jobs requiring AI skills has grown 4.5 times since 2013. There are organisations like Women in AI that are using the community to educate and support more women to take up these AI roles.

Takeaway

The tech world in need of more woman in AI, it is set to change the future of how we work and shape our economy. 

If we are not careful, AI may inherit the unconscious biases of the teams that make it. With AI set to automate tasks and decisions that impact us all, it is important that it is developed with a gender-balance to work for everyone. 

We are on the brink of another tech revolution. Let’s make sure it is equal. Now is a great time to step into a career in AI and help work towards a more inclusive technological future. 

If you think that a career in tech is for you, or you’re looking to further your career we can help 

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