In relations with Women’s Day 2022, INDIAai held a special panel discussion with a different view. Women in AI has always been a topic of discussion. Opinions are varied, that the number of women in AI is always outnumbered by men. Many have raised suggestions asking educational institutions to introduced STEM subjects in schools and prepare students by introducing them into the vast scope of STEM and related subjects.
This year, INDIAai has taken a step to understand the world from the point of view of our future generation. Featuring 11 girls from age groups 8 to 17, who have proven experience in handling AI-based projects, were invited into the panel discussion. They spoke about their projects, the motivation behind building them, their expectations in the future of AI, the role of Women in AI and most importantly they expressed their anxieties and worries concerning the part played by women in society as a whole. Rather than a mere conversation between a bunch of girls, it was an insightful discussion in witnessing the world through the eyes of our younger ones.
The participants were, Lakshita, Soniya Mishra and Puhabi Chakraborthi who were the finalists of the Responsible AI for Youth; Trisha Jain, Kaavya Majumdar and Ira Jain from Coding & More; Vizzmaya Jalal, Mercy Sheeba Don, Geet Saxena, Anika Ghosh, Sakshi Kediya from Stempedia.
The Future of AI
The subject matters of projects prepared by the students varied from AI for daily use to its application in health care and in addressing problems in climatic change. Ira Jain, who is currently studying in 4th standard has taken a stand in addressing social issues using AI. She developed an app named “Dinosaur help agency” intending to help students in personal troubles. The students can talk to the app and it will come up with a suitable solution for the problem. Geet Sexena’s app “AI Security Guard” to help the elderly was developed from her personal experience of having a blind grandmother. Lakshitha’s model for aiding people with cerebral palsy and Sakshi’s Disease Predictor models could be a leapfrog in the health sector. Kaavya’ Majumdar’s nudge is already on Google’s Play Store and it has been helping people to make sustainable choices. Projects such as AI scarecrow, mood recognition app, a wireless Alexa and facial recognition models , developed by the participating girls, are highly promising as well.
“We will have a great future if we pursue AI”, says Lakshita when asked about the future of AI. Going forward, AI will be taking roles that are too “mundane” for humans to do, according to the 10-year-old Kaavya Majumdar. AI will take over roles that might be dangerous for humans and in the meantime, humans can involve in their creative and intellectual pursuits. “AI is probably the future,” says Trisha Jain.
Women in AI
Vizzmaya explained how she built an AI model for understanding the moods of her mother, while she was bedridden. There has always been misconceptions and taboos when it comes to women in certain roles in our society. Being a girl is a good enough reason for many to restrict her from taking part in several activities, she pointed out.
Spectating the glorious panel that INDIAai where the students broke the notions of age and gender barriers using their AI projects, we can ensure ourselves that the future of women in AI is in safe hands.
Source: indiaai.gov.in
