Deloitte Women in Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Diversity of perspective is critical for effective AI
An introduction from Beena Ammanath and Costi Perricos
Thank you for joining us in broadening awareness of the consequences caused by the underrepresentation of women in AI. There are two important messages that we are attempting to voice through this effort.
First, we are seeing a surging demand for AI talent. However, at least one talent pool that could help businesses achieve their AI ambitions has remained largely untapped—women!
This brings us to the second message. Unlocking the potential of women to close the AI talent gap can also help us fix one of the greatest shortcomings of AI. In order to build an effective AI system—including defining a problem for AI to solve, designing a solution, selecting and preparing the data inputs, and constructing and training the algorithms—an AI team should be as diverse as the populations that its AI will impact.2 A more diverse workforce is better equipped to identify and remove AI biases as it interprets data and test solutions, and makes decisions.
On this page, you will find videos and short profiles that tell you about the exceptional work of women in the field of AI at Deloitte. It has been thrilling to hear of their passions for AI, their journeys into the world of AI, and their views on the role of women in this area. Regardless of how different their paths are, they all share one common belief: Diversity, both in terms of gender and demographics, is especially important in the AI field. Addressing this important concern and inspiring more women to enter the field of AI and to remain in it is one of our central commitments at Deloitte.
“I’m particularly passionate about paving the way for AI that is for everyone, regardless of gender, skin color, demographics, or other factors. The core of our success has always come from our people, with the diversity of thought in our team at Deloitte.” – Beena Ammanath, Executive Director, Deloitte Global AI Institute
“It’s simple…AI is about humans working with machines. It’s about extending the possibilities of humankind, for humankind. It’s like the right to vote. Why would women have little to no say in electing AI that’s meant to represent them?” – Costi Perricos, Deloitte Global AI & Data Offering Leader
AI in many ways benefits from the diversity of the people who develop and promote it. We invite you to watch the videos and read the profiles below to learn more about the topic and about our women in AI at Deloitte. AI can be for nearly everyone. We hope the stories will spark your enthusiasm, and maybe one day you will be one of the next AI front-runners with us at Deloitte.
Beena Ammanath - Executive Director, Global Deloitte AI Institute
Costi Perricos - Deloitte Global AI & Data Offering Leader
We are the women in AI—the women who are at the forefront of transformation. We look at challenges from a different angle, drive innovation with impact, and are passionate about AI that champions diversity and fairness. We are the women in AI—but we represent only 26% of data and AI positions in the workforce1. There should be more of us. If you are in AI today, let us help you grow. If not, come and join us.
1 World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2020
2 Ronit Avni and Rana el Kaliouby, Here’s why AI needs a more diverse workforce , World Economic Forum, September 21, 2020.
