Have you ever heard of bias in Artificial Intelligence? Do you believe that women are or should be treated equally as men in the technology world? Are algorithms sexist or racist? These are some of the questions that I had not thought about in too much detail before I joined a panel discussion called “Women in Technology'' presented by HubSpot in collaboration with The Center for Transformation Action. Listening to those women talk about bridging the digital divide and empowering marginalized communities made me think about how much power we actually have in changing the way stereotypes are being followed in today’s society. In this post, I will talk about the main points the panel discussed on how important the effect is on the tech world, how I view the discrepancies in inclusion in different cultures and hopefully inform you on terms like artificial bias, inclusion and belonging, negative algorithms or climate change.
Artificial Intelligence is, to put it simply, the ability of a computer or machine to think, learn and act “smart”. But these computers and machines are still controlled and trained by humans. Thus, it is safe to say that some beliefs and fundamental mistakes made by humans can be transferred to the AI systems because we are the ones inputting the data into them; this is where the negativity comes from. The women on the panel really emphasized the idea that minority groups need to stir up conversations, and need to bring these issues to the table, so the community can understand what needs to be fixed in our society. It is hard to find the right people to invite at the table, but the need for it is essential for growth.
Another idea that I found interesting from the event was the notion that you do not need coding skills to be in tech. You can do social media, sales, research, marketing or many others. So why does our society think that women would never get into technology, why is there this stereotype that only men are good at coding. Well, guess what? It doesn’t matter whether you can code or not, if you want to choose a path in technology then you need to build thick skin and enter your way into the community. Everyone should be prepared to struggle when entering the tech world, especially minority groups, but wherever you decide to go there should be no one stopping you. One of the books recommended in the panel was called “Unapologetically ambitious” by Shellye Archambeau and I think its title describes perfectly what attitude you should have in any career.
In terms of inclusivity, the use of tech doesn’t stop at diversity issues, it continues on with climate change. We get most of our information from our phones and computers, so how can we know for sure if it is the right one, if the algorithms show us the same information as the next person. Technology needs to include communities in talks of environmental issues or different cultural issues because now, more than ever, our planet needs us to take charge and control our carbon footprint. Strategic conversations are tools that people don’t often talk about. They are a form of verbal interchange of thoughts that help create possible scenarios for problem-solving. Change has to start somewhere, so why not here.
Artificial intelligence and Big Data are such important innovations in this modern day, so let’s start using them accordingly. Through my research, I have found that companies have started to use intelligence virtual assistants (IVAs) to boost their engagement. This is a positive way in which we can use AI to benefit our communities. IVAs are not fully designed to replace marketing agents, just to offer some degree of help with reports, customer interaction and team workflows. Having this added support in the tech community puts less pressure on minority groups to exceed expectations.
The last thing that I want to highlight is the idea of equilibrium. There is no such thing as a hierarchy, we are all on this planet in the same position, others may feel like they are more privileged but at the end of the day we all have the same resources available and minds that can achieve the same things. We are a part of the planet itself, it is our ecosystem and we should all want to live in harmony. This starts with discussions and raising awareness about the things that matter to us.