On September 27, HER Entrepreneur hosted a groundbreaking virtual event as part of their LearnXNetwork (LXN) series, delving into the captivating world of artificial intelligence (AI). The event brought the topic of “AI for All: Breaking Bias & Cultivating Diversity,” with a concept of 75-minutes virtual panel discussion promises to be an enlightening and thought-provoking discussion.
About the Event
Our co-founder, Ada Lim, was invited to be one of the speakers. Joining her, there were also be Oliver Tian (Honorary Advisor, Asia Pacific Assistive Robotics Association, Singapore) and Una, Chuanxiu Wang (Founder of LingoAI, Singapore). The talk was moderated by Renee Tan (Founder of HER Entrepreneur and Managing Director of HashTaqs Pte Ltd) and Gracelyn Lin (CEO of Sing See Soon Floral & Landscape Pte Ltd and Founder of KAVA International).
Expected Key Takeaways
Here is sneak peek at some of the key takeaways from this enlightening conversation:
Unmasking Bias in AI
The discussion revolved around the critical issue of bias in AI. AI systems are not immune to reflecting and even amplifying biases present in the data they are built upon. Research by Deloitte has revealed that in 2020, women accounted for less than a quarter of technical roles. This underrepresentation led AI systems to favour male applicants, illustrating how bias can perpetuate and exacerbate inequality.
Ethical Considerations
Some interesting points of view on ethical concerns related to AI, with a focus on transparency, explainability, safety, security, and fairness. The importance of minimizing harm to individuals through comprehensive AI governance frameworks was emphasized.
Impact on Singapore
It shed light on how AI is impacting Singapore, with examples including AI-powered video analytics for temperature screening, innovative robot technology, and network analysis tools for managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Diverse Teams and Their Significance
The significance of diversity in AI development teams was a central theme. Diverse teams bring together individuals with varying perspectives, experiences, and cultural backgrounds, resulting in more balanced and ethically sound decisions throughout the development process. An inclusive AI community is also more likely to attract a wider pool of talent, enriching the field with fresh ideas.
Insights from Speakers
Ada Lim highlighted that diversity is essential for building fair and unbiased datasets:
“Diversity means bringing individuals with various perspectives and experiences. It is able to contribute in building dataset that will be fair and balance that won’t be bias. With diverse team, AI models built will be more fair, less bias. It is basically good.”
Meanwhile, Oliver Tian emphasized the need for education, promoting AI tools, and readiness in applying AI effectively:
“AI can surpass human due to computer power….The goal is to leverage on AI to help human in decision making.”
Promoting Diversity in AI, Combating Barriers, Finding Talents
Renee Tan gave interesting question on “What strategies to promote diversity, combat barriers, find talents? How to include group of people that are not technologically savvy?”.
Oliver Tian responded:
“In my view: First, is education – we need to make AI technology and knowledge available for all ages, groups, etc. We need to start on the young-ages: how they can leverage on technology? Also, we can introduce AI concept framework to early ages; it is very important. We need to re-educating elderly for AI technologies. It might be challenging, but important for them to be able to use it in different ways and spaces. Second, is to promote different AI tools – where we can use AI in many best possible ways. It is important to acknowledge the responsibility involved on how to adopt it correctly. Third, is readiness in applying. Do we know how to leverage AI effectively into our workspace so that we can benefit from it? Knowing how to use the tool is very important.”
Ada Lim added interesting points:
“Open-source community allows AI to be an open software for public. However, many people are not sure that there are AI technologies (in the form of software-embedded) that can make their life easier. It breaks the barrier of users in terms of ages. Everybody should have a chance to promote and use AI.”. Ada Lim referred to Gleematic AI, that provides free version for any type of people. This free version aims to promote workforce, especially but not limited to Singapore workforce.
Diverse Community to Enhance Resilience of AI-driven Businesses
Lastly, Ada Lim made an thought-provoking point of view on how diverse community can help enhance resillience of AI-driven business:
“You can see it from the point of how business build it. If you have group of people who think the same, they will have the same blindspot. If all AI-driven businesses are formed by profit-looking people, it will be a sad space to begin (rather than to see how AI can be a benefit). We can increase the participation of women and people who are key in this business (to maximize the acknowledgment of AI benefits for many of our life aspects).”
Conclusion
In conclusion, achieving AI that benefits all requires a collective effort. We must break down the biases that persist in AI systems and actively cultivate diversity at every level of the AI ecosystem. It is not just a matter of technological innovation. But, it is also a question of ethics, social justice, and the well-being of humanity. Together, we can ensure that AI truly becomes a tool for all, breaking bias, and cultivating diversity for a better future.
We thank HER Entrepreneur for organizing this insightful and fruitful talk, as well as inviting our co-founder to become one of the speakers.
Written by: Kezia Nadira
