As data breaches, misuse of personal information and the spread of disinformation erode the public's trust in Silicon Valley, it can be all too easy to become cynical about technology's impact on the world. But there are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about tech's role in society moving forward. Below, TIME speaks to 10 innovators, founders, investors and even athletes who remain upbeat about technology's influence despite the many challenges facing the industry today. Moustapha Cisse left Senegal a decade ago to study artificial intelligence, and now he believes the technology can change Africa for the better. Cisse, 34, is leading Google's AI research center in Accra, Ghana, the company's first such venture in Africa. "I built my team here around people who are really committed to make a difference in people's lives," Cisse tells TIME. "[They] bring a fresh perspective in the field by looking at the problems that we have in Africa." Growing up, no one would have expected Cisse to be heading up a multi-billion dollar corporation's research initiative.

Traditionally undervalued in the tech industry, empathy -- which is the ability to read and respond to another person's feelings, thoughts and experiences -- is a trait hiring managers and C-level executives can no longer ignore. After all, in a world where artificial intelligence will take up to 5 million jobs away from humans by 2020, the McKinsey Global Institute predicts that up to 14% of human workers will need to adapt to new occupations to secure our future in the workforce. In other words, as we start sharing the workforce with more machines, human soft skills such as empathy will be at a premium. And, that premium is justified. Hiring employees who are empathetic helps companies increase productivity, develop strong leadership and retain high-performing talent.

Not enough women are going into computer science. "I remember walking into one of the classes at Stanford and just deciding not to take the class because I was one of only three women there, and I just felt so intimidated," recalled Catherina Xu, one of the co-presidents for Women in Computer Science at Stanford University. Incidents like this are happening all across the country, and partly due to the lack of women in the field, there is now a shortage of computer science majors -- and it's going to get even worse. By 2024, the National Center for Women and Information Technology predicts that there will be 1.1 million computing-related job openings, and only 41% of those jobs will be filled. And get this: The percentage of women in the field has been declining since the 1980s.