Black Girls Code CEO says Diversity in AI includes everyone
Cristina Mancini's journey shows that much still needs to be done to accelerate inclusion in technology.
More than a decade ago, Cristina Mancini, CEO of Black Girls Code, was at a tech conference and noticed that she was the only black woman.
"It felt like with what they were talking about, that maybe I should in fact not be the only black woman in the room, as the technologies that they were discussing and how they were going to be affecting our world, it really felt like there needed to be more inclusion," Mancini said on the latest episode of the Targeting AI podcast from Informa TechTarget. She added that while those topics discussed at the time felt dystopian, they came to fruition after OpenAI came on the scene.
Despite the advancement in technology, there is still a lack of diversity and inclusion, Mancini added.
"We haven't really done a good enough job in the tech space to ensure that there's enough inclusion in all of these rooms," she said.
Since being in that room, Mancini has worked at Salesforce, where she noticed that much work still needs to be done to drive inclusion in the technology space.
Therefore, when she got the call to be the CEO of Black Girls Code, she saw an opportunity.
"I wondered if I could maybe activate a community that we have not activated properly enough so that we do in fact belong in these rooms," she said. "There's an unfortunate trope that tech likes to tell, which is rags-to-riches stories around black people in technology, which is not conducive to driving any real change and making sure that people see themselves as active participants in these spaces. I wanted to tell stories of empowerment, enablement, success, joy, and who better to do it within these girls."
She added that diversity in AI models is not only about including black voices or black people, but also about making sure everyone is included in the technology.
"It is clear that these technologies need to be built by all of us for all of us," Mancini said.
Esther Shittu is an Informa TechTarget news writer and podcast host covering artificial intelligence software and systems. Shaun Sutner is senior news director for Informa TechTarget's information management team, driving coverage of AI, analytics and data management technologies, and big tech and federal regulation. He is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years of news experience. Together they host the Targeting AI podcast.
