Why we need women at the forefront of AI technology

’As women of faith we should embrace the fifth industrial revolution with faith not fear,’ says Jamie Phear. She says we need women pioneering alongside men to step into the future with leadership that is grounded in ethics and inclusivity.

In elementary school, Shawnna Hoffman was one of the top two students in her class. The other student? A boy named Scottie. One afternoon, Shawnna noticed Scottie leaving class for the computer lab. When she asked to join, her teacher informed her that only boys could work on computers.

Shawnna’s teacher didn’t think girls were capable of understanding technology, but that wouldn’t stop Shawnna. At the library, she gathered as many books on computer science as possible. When her mother asked why all the books? Shawnna peered over the stack and replied, “I need to know why I can’t understand computers”.

Shawnna wasn’t going to let her teacher or culture dictate what she could or couldn’t do. This was the beginning of a dream – the tilling of soil that would eventually grow into a successful career in tech where Shawnna would pioneer as a woman at the forefront of AI development and use.