Women in AI - Let's change the status quo!

CLAIRE X NoEs AQuA webinar writeup

By Anna Tahovská, Ond?ej Cakl?

Opportunity, creativity, agility and “the next level of care” mark the framework of discussion about women’s role in AI, as it was the focus point of the CLAIRE X NoEs All Questions Answered (AQuA): Women in AI webinar.

The online panel discussion dedicated to this pressing issue was organized for the occasion of International Women's Day by CLAIRE Office Prague and Zurich together with the Networks of Excellence (NoEs) and under the auspices of the VISION Project on 6 March 2024. The five female AI researchers, representatives of particular NoEs, who answered the most burning questions from the audience regarding their experience in this male-dominated field, were: Elisa Ricci (ELIAS), Serena Ivaldi (euROBIN), Lucia Vadicamo (AI4Media), Janin Koch (HumaneAINet) and Shruthi Gowda (ENFIELD).

Gender balance - theory?

The discussion moderated by ??Hannah Lea Dykast – navigating change focused on the NoEs activities within the topic of gender inclusivity, as well as the personal challenges and views of the individual female speakers. The general takeaway from the event is an acknowledgement: AI opens new opportunities and brings in complex challenges, and their solution will require a combination not only of different expertise but also sensibilities and gender-based approaches. Since AI has applications in many different fields, we need multidisciplinary teams of people with different backgrounds to deal with it. We can see a lot of women who want to do something radical and make an impact. Female researchers are willing to lead the research to fight challenges that concern humanity, such as climate change. Women’s role thus becomes the “next level of caring,” as Serena Ivaldi put it.

Gender balance - practice?

The individual NoEs have various activities dedicated to gender equality and support of women. Elisa Ricci confirmed: “The ELIAS project has a strong interest in the role of Women in the field of AI. One of the ideas of ELIAS is to make this initiative even stronger and in ELLIS to have women at all levels of seniority in different units and women to participate in the programmes.”?

Lucia Vadicamo stressed that the topic of training and mobility resonates also within the AI4Media project, where the “AIDA programme focuses on doctoral training including mobility funding to foster collaboration and upgrade skills”.

Yet, mobility itself is pointless, if it wouldn’t allow creative confrontations: “HumaneAINetwork contains a lot of different disciplines and draws in a lot of opinions and a lot women that work with AI but not necessarily come out of formal AI education which brings a lot of benefits to the discussion,” said Janin Koch.

Robotics and AI are, knowingly, one of the research fields with the smallest percentage of women engaged. NoEs have to react to the fact in their own manner: “In the euRobin, there are 3 women scientific leaders who actively promote this topic and try to mentor younger researchers, especially in the crucial period when deciding whether to follow up with Ph.D. They try to set positive examples,” Serena Evaldi explained.

Another positive example could be seen at newly established NoEs, like for example the ENFIELD. – The topic of gender equality presents an integral part of the project implementation. Shruthi Gowda praised the project, where she already sees a lot of women representatives at various levels in different partner organizations within different pillars of AI, which is already very encouraging for her as an early-stage researcher.

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Watch the full recording here: CLAIRE X NoEs AQuA: Women in AI - YouTube

Key takeaways

“I see a lot of women who want to do something radical and make an impact. I feel that female researchers are willing to lead the research to fight challenges like climate change and others that concern humanity. It is the next level of caring.” Serena Ivaldi (euROBIN)

“In the context of AI research, what drives me is the people in the field.” Elisa Ricci (ELIAS)

“It is exciting to be a researcher in the field of AI. What I enjoy is the flexibility: You can afford to be curious, try things out, have a look for yourself, and even if you fail it is still OK, because you have learned something along the way. It is a really good freedom to have.” Shruti Gowda (ENFIELD)

“I believe the new AI Act that asks for responsibilities and trust in AI, will bring up a lot more topics that women will feel comfortable going into and solve as problems related to AI. I think there is a potential to get more women involved not just from the AI community but also from other fields, that will have an impact on AI.” Janin Koch (HumaneAINet)

“My suggestion is not only for the girls but also for their parents: Try to encourage them to be curious, to taste as many experiences as possible, so that we are sure that they will decide what they want to study or do when, they grow up, based on their preference and not on unconscious bias or stereotype connected to the field.” Lucia Vadicamo (AI4Media).