hether it is diversity in the boardroom or the executive suite, or diversity in AI and tech roles and decision–making, diversity is the imperative of our tech present and future. Without diverse representation in these roles, across sectors and frontiers, humankind won’t be able to fully and constructively tackle the deep yet still undefinable risks and the “sky’s the limit” opportunities of AI, generative AI, and other exponential technologies that are coming at us at the speed of light.
AI’s diversity problem
Two recent media stories powerfully illustrate a key issue with exponential technological innovation: a jarring lack of diversity that largely leaves out both women and people of color. The world cannot afford to move into the age of exponential technology without all –hands –on deck and a holistic, inclusive approach to steering our tech future.
Media Story #1: On 13 September 2023, the New York Times reported “In Show of Force, Silicon Valley Titans Pledge ‘Getting This Right’ with A.I.” In which the “titans” were almost all white men including the usual suspects: Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Satya Nadella, Jensen Huang, Alex Karp, and Jack Clark.
The NYT piece referenced the closed–door meeting as “a rare congregation of more than a dozen tech executives in the same room.” Media photos of the event showed the “titans” arriving in style in their black sedans, and in the senate chamber with mostly male senators and staffers—with a few female exceptions.
This important conversation, of course, took place behind closed doors so that the “titans” and senators could freely express their thoughts about the end of the world without attribution and away from the watchful eyes of their undoubtedly diverse stakeholders.
This is a shame. The senate leadership and staff demonstrated relative blindness in making this a media circus about the tech titans rather than a more holistic, inclusive, and public discussion about humanity’s shared tech interests. The media, meanwhile, perpetuated bias in their coverage: pervasively male content, references, quotes, and photos. The tech titans themselves, while not at fault for being successful, have a higher obligation to act on the tech diversity imperative because of their success.
Media Story #2: On 3 December 2023, the New York Times produced an upsetting fluff piece on the “Luminaries of AI.” The 12 luminaries were all men and ten of them were white. This story completely ignored the depth and breadth of the female and people of color leadership in tech and more specifically AI and other exponential technologies. This piece engendered a bit of a furor among diverse groups, especially women’s groups, with numerous media and social media posts countering the 12 male luminaries’ narrative (see below).
For diversity to really work, we need those in power to recognize the power of diversity and insist on a more diverse composition in all venues—jobs, media coverage, conference panels, etc.
The Diversity imperative
What happens when we are only listening to the “titans?” We are only hearing one half of the story, the half that is about gung–ho tech breakthroughs and billions (and even trillions) of dollars. What we don’t hear about enough is the other half of the story, the part that asks about the purpose and mission of the tech, and its ethics, safety, and security—its impact on society and stakeholders.
The ongoing OpenAI governance saga perfectly illustrates this ongoing drama. OpenAI continues to twist and contort from having been a mission/purpose–driven nonprofit with a diverse board looking to develop safe AI for humanity, to now being something quite different: an on–fire, multi–billion–dollar, profit–seeking venture, whose board is currently all white men, rushing new products and services to the marketplace.
Building a Constructive Future
We can do so much more. This isn’t about dethroning the tech bros. It’s about bringing in the voices, brainpower, and creativity of most of the rest of humankind. Together, we must deploy our skills and common humanity to solving our tech challenges and making the world a safer place for exponential change.
In the meantime, how can we work better together to build more positive and inclusive narratives? Here’s how:
By immediately countering misinformation by offering actual information, data and facts, as Kara Swisher and Fei Fei Li (an amazing AI pioneer and luminary herself) did in response to the NYT’s “12 luminaries” article by posting the following on X/Twitter: on X/Twitter:
By offering counter–narratives as did this column titled “NY Times Missed These 12 Trailblazers: Meet the Women Transforming AI.”
By doing better due diligence in building “best of” lists like the Time100/AI List of 100 most influential leaders in AI, with 36 women and many people of color on it.
By training your communications, public relations and media professionals and other teams on implicit bias and blind spots and making sure you never construct a “manel” (a men–only panel).
And by doing original work disseminating important data and other information in your own space. Two such initiatives include the group of diverse women from the Athena Alliance who have written and published the Athena AI Governance Playbook, and XRSI, a non-profit dedicated to safety in the metaverse and made up mostly by women and people of color.
This is all to say that a concerted, communal, and collaborative effort is way past overdue on developing safe, secure, ethical AI, and other tech. When half of the planet is excluded because of gender—and more than that because of color, race, geography, or other diversity—one can only conclude that there is a better, more holistic way, both for reducing the risks of future tech and creating new opportunities.
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The diversity imperative of our exponential times
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
March 9, 2024
Diversity must be the imperative of our tech present and future. Without diversity, we cannot fully graph the purpose and mission of the tech, and its ethics, safety, and security—its impact on society and stakeholders, writes Andrea Bonime–Blanc.
W
hether it is diversity in the boardroom or the executive suite, or diversity in AI and tech roles and decision–making, diversity is the imperative of our tech present and future. Without diverse representation in these roles, across sectors and frontiers, humankind won’t be able to fully and constructively tackle the deep yet still undefinable risks and the “sky’s the limit” opportunities of AI, generative AI, and other exponential technologies that are coming at us at the speed of light.
AI’s diversity problem
Two recent media stories powerfully illustrate a key issue with exponential technological innovation: a jarring lack of diversity that largely leaves out both women and people of color. The world cannot afford to move into the age of exponential technology without all –hands –on deck and a holistic, inclusive approach to steering our tech future.
Media Story #1: On 13 September 2023, the New York Times reported “In Show of Force, Silicon Valley Titans Pledge ‘Getting This Right’ with A.I.” In which the “titans” were almost all white men including the usual suspects: Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Satya Nadella, Jensen Huang, Alex Karp, and Jack Clark.
The NYT piece referenced the closed–door meeting as “a rare congregation of more than a dozen tech executives in the same room.” Media photos of the event showed the “titans” arriving in style in their black sedans, and in the senate chamber with mostly male senators and staffers—with a few female exceptions.
This important conversation, of course, took place behind closed doors so that the “titans” and senators could freely express their thoughts about the end of the world without attribution and away from the watchful eyes of their undoubtedly diverse stakeholders.
This is a shame. The senate leadership and staff demonstrated relative blindness in making this a media circus about the tech titans rather than a more holistic, inclusive, and public discussion about humanity’s shared tech interests. The media, meanwhile, perpetuated bias in their coverage: pervasively male content, references, quotes, and photos. The tech titans themselves, while not at fault for being successful, have a higher obligation to act on the tech diversity imperative because of their success.
Media Story #2: On 3 December 2023, the New York Times produced an upsetting fluff piece on the “Luminaries of AI.” The 12 luminaries were all men and ten of them were white. This story completely ignored the depth and breadth of the female and people of color leadership in tech and more specifically AI and other exponential technologies. This piece engendered a bit of a furor among diverse groups, especially women’s groups, with numerous media and social media posts countering the 12 male luminaries’ narrative (see below).
For diversity to really work, we need those in power to recognize the power of diversity and insist on a more diverse composition in all venues—jobs, media coverage, conference panels, etc.
The Diversity imperative
What happens when we are only listening to the “titans?” We are only hearing one half of the story, the half that is about gung–ho tech breakthroughs and billions (and even trillions) of dollars. What we don’t hear about enough is the other half of the story, the part that asks about the purpose and mission of the tech, and its ethics, safety, and security—its impact on society and stakeholders.
The ongoing OpenAI governance saga perfectly illustrates this ongoing drama. OpenAI continues to twist and contort from having been a mission/purpose–driven nonprofit with a diverse board looking to develop safe AI for humanity, to now being something quite different: an on–fire, multi–billion–dollar, profit–seeking venture, whose board is currently all white men, rushing new products and services to the marketplace.
Building a Constructive Future
We can do so much more. This isn’t about dethroning the tech bros. It’s about bringing in the voices, brainpower, and creativity of most of the rest of humankind. Together, we must deploy our skills and common humanity to solving our tech challenges and making the world a safer place for exponential change.
In the meantime, how can we work better together to build more positive and inclusive narratives? Here’s how:
By immediately countering misinformation by offering actual information, data and facts, as Kara Swisher and Fei Fei Li (an amazing AI pioneer and luminary herself) did in response to the NYT’s “12 luminaries” article by posting the following on X/Twitter: on X/Twitter:
By offering counter–narratives as did this column titled “NY Times Missed These 12 Trailblazers: Meet the Women Transforming AI.”
By doing better due diligence in building “best of” lists like the Time100/AI List of 100 most influential leaders in AI, with 36 women and many people of color on it.
By training your communications, public relations and media professionals and other teams on implicit bias and blind spots and making sure you never construct a “manel” (a men–only panel).
And by doing original work disseminating important data and other information in your own space. Two such initiatives include the group of diverse women from the Athena Alliance who have written and published the Athena AI Governance Playbook, and XRSI, a non-profit dedicated to safety in the metaverse and made up mostly by women and people of color.
This is all to say that a concerted, communal, and collaborative effort is way past overdue on developing safe, secure, ethical AI, and other tech. When half of the planet is excluded because of gender—and more than that because of color, race, geography, or other diversity—one can only conclude that there is a better, more holistic way, both for reducing the risks of future tech and creating new opportunities.
