Team Diversity is not just about gender. Diversity gets to the heart of bringing people of different gender, cultures, demographics, and mindsets together in ways that empower teams to accomplish more, faster, and better than homogeneous teams. This is always a challenge because we humans tend to be herd animals... wanting and needing to be around others like ourselves. This mirror-bias is one of the most challenging barriers to diverse team structures. And we often hide behind the term "soft skills" as a way to justify our need for homogeneity... to form teams mirroring ourselves. But as we move forward in this new frontier called AI, we must assure it not only reflects human nature, but models all that is good in humanity... reflecting all that we aspire to be.
A look back at a very special AI Monday Heilbronn – this time on a Friday! 🎉 Yes, the name stays the same – but sometimes the day doesn’t really matter when it comes to great content! Last Friday, we had a fantastic evening as part of the Experience AI Event at the IPAI Event Space. Under the moderation of Dennis "The Alaskan" Kline, the panel focused entirely on #Diversity in #AI. 👩💻 Our inspiring panellists: The personal insights shared during their introductions were particularly fascinating. Here are some details they shared with us: Prof. Dr. Mahsa F. (Hochschule Heilbronn - Hochschule für Technik, Wirtschaft und Informatik, Prof. for Human-AI-Interaction, originally from Iran, married, 2 children) Marina Iantorno (Campus Founders, Data Scientist, originally from Argentina, 2.5 years in Ireland, since 2.5 years in Stuttgart) Vivien Bender (Springer Nature, Team Lead & AI Product Manager, learned AI on the job, dog lover) Carina Mieth (Freelancer, PhD student in Trustworthy AI, Women in AI & Robotics Lead Stuttgart, took a 1-year sabbatical to hike and bike) 💬 Discussion highlights: What does #Diversity mean? From cultural backgrounds to professional experiences, the panel demonstrated how diverse perspectives influence AI development. Why is diversity important in AI? Greater diversity leads to more innovative solutions and better results. A thought-provoking example: Carina shared a story about a project where she was the only woman alongside another diverse individual in a team full of men. Despite the brilliant analyses provided by the diverse individual, their suggestions were ignored – the men agreed that their tried-and-tested approach was sufficient. Unfortunately, this led to errors going unnoticed, and the outcome could have been much better. This example powerfully illustrates why diverse teams are not just valuable but essential. AI and #Ethics: The EU faces the challenge of fostering innovation while maintaining ethical standards. Greater diversity in the development of AI ethics processes was identified as key. A big thank you to Arpita Sarker for the invitation and to Prof. Dr. Alexander Jesser from Heilbronn University for the friendly and insightful organisation of the event. This event was sponsored by GDG WTM Global (Google Developer Groups Women Techmakers), co-sponsored by IPAI, and co-organised with AI Monday Heilbronn. Interactive, humorous, and with plenty of audience participation – that’s what makes AI Monday Heilbronn special, even when we hold it on a Friday! ✨ How great to meet/see you: Karen Ehrhardt-Dreier Ashmi Banerjee Syed Amir Hamza Galina Jesser A heartfelt thank you to Björn Eistel from the AI Monday Heilbronn Team for the beautiful pictures.