{"id":14571,"date":"2024-03-08T14:16:42","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T14:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1404674"},"modified":"2024-03-08T14:16:42","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T14:16:42","slug":"sharing-the-ai-journey-amplifying-female-founder-voices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=14571","title":{"rendered":"Sharing the AI journey: Amplifying female founder voices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In October last year, researchers at the Alan Turing Institute sounded the alarm that there was an \u201curgent issue\u201d of gender imbalance in artificial intelligence investment. No one, unfortunately, was surprised. However, it is always good to have the data. <\/span>
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<\/span>The report<\/span><\/a> found that female-founded companies accounted for only 3% of AI startup VC funding over the past decade. While the study focused solely on the UK, similar findings have been reported in other countries. <\/span>
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<\/span>With the boom in generative AI, the importance of diverse founder perspectives to counteract bias in a technology set to become ever more omnipresent throughout our daily lives cannot be overstated. Thus, the chasm in gender representation in AI is concerning far beyond the mere recognition of \u201cthat sucks.\u201d <\/span>
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<\/span>Of course, this is not a problem solely with funding, or AI as a sector, for that matter. Female representation in tech is held back by structural factors such as industry culture and lower rates of women in STEM. What seems to matter most when it comes to shifting gender imbalance is support \u2014- and representation that highlights the struggles, along with the wins. <\/span>
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<\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s true that there are very few female founders in AI,\u201d Dr Angie Ma, co-founder of UK-based startup Faculty AI, tells TNW. \u201cBut my experience as a tech company founder has been a rewarding one. Don\u2019t get me wrong, it\u2019s not like it\u2019s easy or anything, it is the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever done. But I think it\u2019s the journey that matters. Because along the journey, I\u2019ve come across many wonderful people that have helped me without expecting anything in return.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A \u201cgreat time for AI\u201d at UCL<\/h2>\n

<\/span>Dr Ma completed her degree in physics during the dot-com boom of the early 2000s. Together with a couple of friends she started a company that created databases for online shopping. In her own words, it \u201cfailed spectacularly.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

After a family-encouraged foray into law and realising she would make \u201ca lousy lawyer,\u201d she began her PhD in physics at University College London, which was, she says, a \u201cgreat time for AI.\u201d (DeepMind founders Demis Hassabis, Shane Legg, and Mustafa Suleyman attended at the same time.)<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/i><\/a>Dr Angie Ma. Credit: Faculty AI<\/figcaption>