Why smart women are skeptical of AI

Hey girl hey!

In Transit is leadership inspo for women going places:  

literally,  figuratively, and most importantly, actually. 

You know that feeling when you say something in a meeting and everyone looks at you like you've lost the plot? And then six months later, someone else says the exact same thing and suddenly they are brilliant? 

That's this story. But also, this story is about why you need to understand what AI is actually doing before you hand it the keys to your biggest decisions.

To set the scene, I am easily the youngest person in the room at 29 years old and, as this is a tech-related event, one of only a few women. It's 2019 and I'm in Australia speaking at a conference about AI and education.  To put it simply, I didn't feel my most confident self in that room. 

I was invited to talk about bias in AI tools. My talk starts with the hot topic of gender and racial bias in algorithms which was, and still is, super important. Then I went on to say " but what about ALL of our biases? AI is learning how our brains actually work, which means it's learning all of our mental shortcuts too."

I gave this example about how we can't see our own nose even though it's RIGHT THERE in our field of vision. Our brains just filter it out because it's not useful information. 

When humans train AI on our decisions (FYI all AI is trained this way), it's learning to do that same thing. It's learning to filter in and out certain information based on what we consciously and unconsciously filter.

So midway through my talk, this guy—and OF COURSE it was a guy—stands up and goes “That's ridiculous. (I think he actually said  "preposterous" ). That's not possible and doesn't even make sense." 

I sh*t you not when I say, the whole room then erupted. People were jumping in, debating, and I'm standing there having this full body experience of feeling like the dumbest person alive. 

My inner monologue: Cool cool cool, stupid girl with her stupid little ideas and her stupid big mouth. But sure, this is fine.

Live footage of me at the event ☝🏽

Cut to LAST MONTH. I'm deep in the research on AI and leadership for a project, and what do I keep finding? Study after study showing that AI is absolutely demonstrating our cognitive biases. JUST LIKE I SAID IN 2019. For example, there's research* showing that AI tools get stuck on their first ideas when they're trying to be creative. Just like we do! The anchoring bias we've studied in humans for decades? Yup, we passed that along to AI. 

 So here's what you need to know: Research** shows that women are less likely to adopt AI technology than men, and we express way more reservations about it. And honestly? There are VERY good reasons to be skeptical. Your gut feeling that something's off is picking up on real problems. But women opting out of AI is creating a gender gap that's only going to hurt us in the long run. When we're not learning these tools, we're not the ones getting the leadership promotions for "leveraging AI," and we're not building skills that everyone is going to expect leaders to have in like two years (if not already, tbh). 

 The answer isn't to avoid it. It's to learn how to use it smartly, to understand where it's biased, and to work with it without accidentally amplifying all the trash it's learned from us.

 This is exactly why I made the AI Reality Check workshop! To help you see what AI is actually doing behind the scenes and use these tools without accidentally making everything worse - including your career. 

 Curious? Register at the link below or just hit reply and we can chat.

& BTW, pricing on the Masterclass increases next Monday! Don't miss your chance to learn how AI works, how women are judged for using it, and how to lead with it strategically to get ahead…at the LOWEST price + your discount.

In girl math, that's basically free.

Let's go, girls!

xoxo

Kels

BONUS CONTENT: Trash TV MBA

Members Only: Palm Beach

My husband (the real reality TV junkie in our house) put on Members Only: Palm Beach this week, and I obviously couldn't help but watch. 

Throughout the series, there's drama over who's the real queen of Palm Beach. At one point, Gale even "passes down" a tiara to Rosalyn, like it's some kind of royal succession ceremony.

Everyone's reaction? Um, whaaattt? Because you can't just give someone a crown and expect everyone to bow down.

Here's what you need to know: leadership is both granted and claimed.

You can tell everyone you're the queen all day long, but if people don't actually see you as a leader (if they don't respect your decisions, trust your judgment, or follow your lead) you're just talking. That's the claiming part. You have to step into it and own it.

On the other side of things, people can grant you leadership all day long (hello, tiara handoff), but if you don't recognize it and actually USE that authority, you're leaving power on the table. You're missing opportunities to influence your team, shape decisions, and lead.

The real queens? They do both. They claim their leadership AND they focus on earning the respect that makes others grant it to them. 

So ask yourself: Where are you only doing one? (or none!)

 Did you get the promotion or the title but you're still kind of... waiting for permission to actually BE the boss? That's where you need to step up and claim it. You already have the crown, babe, now wear it. 

Or are you out here leading, influencing, making shit happen, but nobody's given you the actual title or pay? Then it's time to build your case for why that leadership needs to be officially recognized. You're already doing the job. Now get the credit.