Women shaping the future of tech

In this exclusive interview, we speak with two experts, Asha Easton (AE), KTM Immersive Technologies and Dr Caroline Chibelushi (CC), KTM Artificial Intelligence.

Hear about their tech career journeys, the challenges women face in the industry, and their advice for the next generation of young people looking to break into tech and make an impact in AI.

What inspired you into a career in tech?

AE: I’ve always been really interested in AI, immersive technologies and cybersecurity. I think tech is what moves and shapes the world faster than anything, and I want to play my part in evolving the ethical development of these technologies.

CC: I was fascinated with tech from an early age. I used to break things apart to look inside and understand how they work. My parents were quite supportive of that. They said, ‘why don’t you do engineering’? I studied electronics engineering, and I did my master’s in computer networks because I wanted to understand how these devices can communicate. That’s how I got into computer science.

AI has shown huge potential, but what do you see as the main challenges?

CC: Gender bias in AI is still a major issue in the way tools are developed. If you look at healthcare for example, I’ve seen evidence which shows gender bias in the detection of cardiovascular diseases, where tools are shown to be male oriented and may not detect symptoms of a heart attack in women.

There’s also examples of bias from tools which assess financial loan applications and in recruitment to name a few.

Another challenge is our attitude towards AI. It is helping to address productivity, but at the same time we want AI to do everything for us and solve all our problems. We need to educate people to help them understand that AI is just a tool, like a calculator.

AE: As well as the problems in bias, there are issues around the data which is used to train these systems. It’s important for people to remember that all the digital data that exists in the world, which these models are being trained on, especially open-source data, is not reflective of all of humanity.

There are still so many people in the world that don’t even have access to the internet, which means communities without digital data are not represented, so AI is being trained on a specific example of what’s available, and that’s concerning.

Is there a special role for women in AI?

AE: I think it’s important more women get involved to help to fix these biases in the data AI is trained on, and we need more voices at the table all the time.

Men are more likely to be learning AI tools than women currently, and that’s going to be a big disadvantage to women in the workplace going forward when their male counterparts are more AI-educated. This will cause an even bigger disconnect in job promotions and other opportunities.

CC: I think we all have a responsibility to ensure AI tools have care, ethics and fairness embedded. We need to audit these tools in how they are built. They need to go through rigorous checks, the same way pharmaceuticals go through clinical trials. We need to check how tools are trained, which data was used, who developed them and if they are inclusive.

Do you think the tech industry is doing enough to support inclusion?

AE: In some ways, yes, and in some ways, no. There are lots of initiatives, but I feel like they’re a bit disjointed. Often, they’re underfunded or volunteer led. They’re not properly supported to give all the levels of help that are needed, and in a sustained way. It’s a lot of goodwill amongst people that are trying to make things better, so it still has a long way to go.

I think there’s still a big disconnect in the talent pipeline, which is something we’re trying to address in the Innovate UK Immersive Tech Network. We’re bringing people together to address issues in the diverse talent pipeline and trying to see how we can work together to make it more cohesive. It’s not just about getting people interested in tech, it’s about intervention points along that career pathway where they need help.

What’s your advice to young people looking to break into tech?

CC: Be confident. Don’t be distracted by hearing ‘you can’t do this’. Ask for help as much as you can. Don’t feel like you will be considered a weak person. Just go for it. Ask for help whether a small or big problem.

AE: Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. Make your own opportunities, be proactive and always keep learning. Try and find ways to upskill yourself. Use all those free online resources to get started and find mentors in the space. Find people who are doing what you would like to be doing in the tech space and try to chat with them.

You’d be really surprised how many people are willing to give you some of their time to support you and help you on your journey.

Any final thoughts?

CC: Bias in AI remains the number one most serious issue we need to address. We need men as allies who are willing to listen to the concerns and we need talented women to help fix some of these problems. If we work together, I think we’ll solve it.

AE: Don’t fear emerging technology. Try to shift your mindset to become an early adopter and figure out your place in the world as this technology comes online. People get really bogged down in the negative headlines. There’s so much hype and nonsense in the press. Just try and cut through the noise, and don’t be afraid of it.