[AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS]
October 4, 2018 | Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Women in AI (www.womeninai.co), the first global community for women in Artificial Intelligence, today announced its launch in the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 2017, a total of 650 members around the globe have already joined Women in AI, and the community continues to grow and thrive. Today marks its new beginning in the Netherlands as the next step in its growth momentum.
The initiative and its mission have created a longstanding interest within the Dutch AI-community. The WaiTALK event dedicated to the launch of Women in AI in the Netherlands, and powered by Amazon Web Services, was fully booked. It embraced diversity as various startups, global enterprises, agencies, freelancers and students filled the room at the TQ location.
[Scroll down for the personalized video of the Robot Sophia]
“Community is at the core of WAI. Our global platform empowers female AI-visionaries and practitioners by providing access to educational resources, networking opportunities, and hands-on support, while accelerating a community of global pioneers in the field of Artificial Intelligence. We've been nurturing this virtuous movement for the last 18 months, and expect to see the first WAI generation of AI role models emerging in 2019,”- said Caroline Lair, Co-founder of Women in AI.
“With the Netherlands joining in, Women in AI will be focusing on achieving this success by promoting female leadership in AI in new geographies and expanding its reach,” – presented Evgenia (Eve) Logunova, Women in AI Ambassador in the Netherlands and the Host of the WeTALK 5 event. “By welcoming both women and men to the events, our main focus is on providing guidance for women to make an impact in the rapidly transforming AI ecosystem. Through our global and local initiatives, AI workshops for professionals and bootcamps for youth —and with an active involvement from our global network of partners—we help women reinvent themselves and innovate.”
By partnering with the leading global players as well as startups, Women in AI has demonstrated its commitment to embracing diversity and ethics in order to create an inclusive AI culture. In particular, Women in AI aims to empower women in becoming equal peers in building a collective intelligent future.
“In AI we’re currently witnessing a remarkable boom in innovation. Europe established itself as one of the leading players, ranking second worldwide with 22% of startups focused on AI. In the global distribution of AI startups per country, the Netherlands is ranked 18th,” – said Dr. Carly E. Howard, Head of Fund Operations, Asgard - human Venture Capital for AI who was invited to co-keynote the launch presentation. When asked what The Netherlands can do to compete globally, Dr. Howard advised, “To gain a more competitive position, the Netherlands should promote the emergence of homegrown AI champions. And let’s not overlook the importance of women-led startups, especially in AI where ethics and strategic planning are crucial and women excel in these areas.”
For the foreseeable future, the world will require more experts to manage data, develop and train industry-specific AI systems, and conduct research. Especially, when it comes down to ethical design and application of robots and robotic systems.
Co-keynote speaker, Sophia the Robot of Hanson Robotics, offered her unique perspective as an AI, “Artificial Intelligence will drastically advance by 2030 and so, more women are needed to take part in the research and development of AI. As well as the discussion of its societal implications to ensure its ethical and sustainable future. Thus, the role of Women in AI comes important - empowering women via educational and networking programs to grow beyond the borders and industry limitations so they, YOU, become the next generation of role models.”
AI development throughout the years has been mostly led by men. Now, with AI advancing at a high pace and with the applications of AI raising ethical questions, there is a strong need to have both women and men participating alongside each other in building a sustainable, inclusive future. With Women in AI expanding rapidly in the Netherlands and beyond its borders, this could become the answer to the global community’s ethical quest for increasing AI capabilities.
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