In Science, Technology, Engineering, and other fields, it is critical to address the gender diversity issue.

The possibility of creating sentient machines that can think and act like humans, raises many ethical issues. We’re encountering women leading the way for ethical AI algorithms, and with autonomous robots looming on the horizon, an open discussion on the perils of unchecked AI, is even more imperative.

To celebrate, women leading the way for ethical AI, much-needed discussion on development of responsible AI solutions, that will benefit everyone.

The women included in the list given below were selected, based upon women leading the way for ethical AI, they are using as a transformation agent to help drive results, for their organizations and the employees, customers and citizens they serve.

1. Terah Lyons:

Terah Lyons is the executive director of Partnership on AI, an organization established to study and formulate best practices on women leading the way for ethical AI technologies, to advance the public’s understanding of AI, and to serve as an open platform about AI. It includes well-known players like Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft. Terah was formerly policy advisor to the U.S. chief technology officer at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), where she was behind the Obama administration’s deep dive into AI’s potential, to change the world. You can get more information on Terah’s work, at Partnership on AI.

2. Lisa Sherman, President and CEO of the Ad Council:

The Ad Council creates advertising campaigns to raise awareness of pressing social issues, and under Sherman’s guidance, has started using IBM Watson Advertising Accelerator for two campaigns: It’s Love Has No Labels diversity and inclusion initiative, and the “It’s Up To You” COVID-19 vaccination drive.

3. Manoela Morais, Chimka Munkhbayar and Helen Tsai of Agrolly:

Morais, Munkhbayar and Tsai were the winners of IBM’s Call For Code 2020 with Agrolly, an IBM Watson-powered app, designed to help farmers in developing countries, improve production and minimize risks. Since winning in 2020, Agrolly has expanded into additional countries, and is providing hands-on training for rural farmers in Brazil, India and Mongolia.

4. Poonam Verma, Head of Security Engineering, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation:

Verma oversees DTCC’s cybersecurity services, in its role as a provider of post-trade infrastructure, for global markets. DTCC has built a standardized and simplified way to process securities transactions more safely, and under Verma’s watch, added IBM services to improve cyber detection capabilities.

5. Ekaterina Ostankova, Product Manager at Lloyds Banking Group:

Ostankova was a critical part of Lloyds’ AI adoption in the face of COVID-19, which used IBM Watson Assistant, to simplify customer support. In addition, Ostankova has been behind other conversational AI projects at Lloyds, that help “support customers by resolving ever more complex queries through messaging and web channels.”

6. Annie Shu, Manager of Strategy and Innovation, Westpac:

Australian bank, Westpac developed a digital coach named, Wendy, to help teenagers find their first jobs. Wendy was championed by Shu, who also led the service design and innovation development teams behind Wendy, which uses IBM Watson natural language processing technology, to make the digital avatar “engaging and relatable.”

7. Rumman Chowdhury:

Rumman Chowdhury is a Senior Principal at Accenture, working on cutting-edge applications of Artificial Intelligence and leading their Strategic Global Initiative on Responsible Artificial Intelligence. Rumman advises companies on ethical AI practices, and work with organizations such as the World Economic Forum, and the IEEE’s Wellbeing Metrics Standard, for Ethical Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems.

8. Danah Boyd:

Danah Boyd, is the founder and president of Data & Society, an organization committed to identifying thorny issues at the intersection of technology and society, providing and encouraging research, that can ground informed, evidence-based public debates, and building a network of researchers and practitioners, who can anticipate issues and offer insight and direction. Danah is also a Principal Researcher at Microsoft, and a Visiting Professor at New York University. Her research is focused on making certain, that society has a nuanced understanding of the relationship between technology and society, especially as issues of inequity and bias emerge. She is the author of “It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens”.