Why AI needs more women

The technology and science community has been swift to embrace the opportunities presented by International Women's Day (IWD). This comes from the belief (based on solid evidence) that diversity is essential to improving STEM, that women working in the field should be well supported and that more women should be encouraged to take up careers in related fields. I am completely behind these efforts and am delighted to see IWD being used as a regular reminder to all of us working in technology that we must not lose sight of the importance of improving diversity in our subject areas. As a woman working in the field of data science and artificial intelligence (AI), I feel this particularly acutely, for I believe it is now urgent that we improve diversity in AI. In the U.K. the government has acknowledged the importance of AI and data science by making it one of the four pillars of its Industrial Strategy.