TAARINI KAUR DANG, FOUNDER & CEO, BRAVE14 CAPITAL
Taarini Kaur Dang Founder and CEO, Brave14 Capital; Author of ‘The Young Aspiring Entrepreneur: A 14-year Old Girl from Silicon Valley shares how to Overcome Age and Gender Barriers.’
Where does your passion for AI stem from?
I am always enamoured by ground-breaking technologies that have the potential of changing the face of humanity for the better. I consider AI as that kind of technology. I am passionate about helping to define AI in the right way so that it has a positive impact on the world and can solve large-scale problems like climate change, world hunger and others. I have had several STEM-focused interactions since elementary school. I have done a summer internship at Nutanix after 9th grade and became one of their youngest interns ever. AI was a common topic of internal discussion there. I have been fortunate to be a speaker at top conferences – such as the Google Launchpad Female Founders Summit – where AI was a common topic of discussion at these events.
What challenge related to AI are you/your organisation currently working on?
Looking to invest in AI start-ups via my venture capital fund – Brave14 Capital – where the goal is to help develop AI with diverse viewpoints.
Which area, in your view, offers the biggest opportunity for women to make a real impact in AI right now?
The biggest opportunity for women in AI is in the definition and creation of AI itself. Having diverse viewpoints in the AI industry is important because it will lead to different ideas, innovations and outcomes for a technology that will have significant impact on our daily lives.
If we must make use of AI technology and enjoy all its possible benefits, there must be a balanced input that comes from women and men. Note that aside from the disadvantages that could come from the expansion of AI that I previously mentioned, a framework that lacks diversity of opinion would be even more disastrous.
Why is women’s leadership in AI important?
The insignificant level of female participation in AI development is an issue of big concern. The implication of this for AI is that the essential perspectives of women required for augmenting our everyday activities would be effectively non-existent in the technology. If this trend is not adjusted, the pervasion of AI could be interpreted as a ‘takeover’ of the world by technology designed exclusively by men. This would be devastating, and we cannot exclude the significance of women’s input.
What do you think would help women lead in the AI space?
An early introduction of the rudiments of AI to girls at a young age – would help develop their interest and passion to follow through with understanding the AI concepts and operations. Parents can more intentional in exposing their girls to interesting details about technology to provoke curiosity.
The creation of dedicated colleges where AI would be solely taught could be a welcome and impactful idea. This kind of institution is sure to attract people from different parts of the world and would be pivotal to raising the number of women techies in no time, provided that they are made accessible through a low or free-tuition fee structure.
Women currently in workplaces around the world should be educated on the advantages and importance of getting involved in technology creation and development. Organisations and businesses can help the situation by sponsoring women on scheduled courses, where rudimentary and advanced AI can be taught. When provisions like these are made, the numbers are bound to rise by some percentage points.
How can AI help empower women?
AI can help empower women by better understanding women-specific challenges and helping solve them. For example, developments in AI can help to fight bias in hiring and pay. Depending on where you are in the world, such issues are typically not discussed with openness. So, advances in AI in particular can help understand these issues and hopefully generate new solutions, provided that we take steps to ensure that women’s perspective are used in developing this technology.
This series of stories highlights women leaders and entrepreneurs who are driving positive impact on our most pressing global issues and demonstrating women’s unique contribution to inclusive solutions. It draws on the community of the Daring Circles – workgroups committed to positive impact in areas where women are most affected and where women are demonstrating outsize leadership. Share your stories with the hashtag #women4AI, and submit your own stories to the Women’s Forum editorial team by emailing Sophie Lambin (sophie.lambin@womens-forum.com).