Post by IMD

Today at London Tech Week we launched the Closing the AI Gender Gap initiative by IMD, Media Trust and Code For Good Now, seeking to ensure a gender-equitable AI future. The initiative’s coalition share the belief that leaders have a responsibility not only to govern within their own organizations, but also to shape the environment in which AI continues to evolve. From education and employment to trust and procurement, we all hold powerful levers to influence how AI is developed, deployed, and governed. “We wanted to understand in more depth the barriers and why enough women aren’t using this technology – and trust, ethics, and fear of judgement were cited as key reasons. The reality is not a case for less AI but more responsible use of AI, to be aware of the problems and to build against it,” explained Zehra Chatoo. “There is an issue with fewer women using AI, and the attitude of many is ‘how do we fix the women’, as it was with the web – and that is wrong. We have a duty to build this technology responsibly and factor in the needs of women. If we leave women out, organizations face a reputation and risk problem – and the cost isn’t just slower adoption, it’s less competitive businesses and a less equitable society,” said Sarah Toms. “Systems have been developed very quickly, and societal implications are an afterthought – but when the web was invented governance was baked in. We see government initiatives on sovereign AI when we need a global approach to a global problem. We brought the world together on nuclear with CERN, and that’s a great model and solution for AI governance,” added Rosemary Leith. “We have established that the stakes are high but that the AI gender gap is not inevitable,” concluded Su-Mei Thompson, bringing the session to a close. The message is clear: the time to act is now. Learn more about how you and your organization can get involved in the initiative here: https://bit.ly/4xiJUW7 #IMD #IMDImpact #ArtificialIntelligence #LTW #IbyIMD