”AI methods are images of their developers” – FCAI takes part in the International Day of the Girl Child by introducing AI to pupils

The theme day aims at promoting girls’ societal participation. In the field of artificial intelligence, girls’ involvement is so far wanting.

Arno Solin and Eeva Vilkkumaa discuss the basics of AI (in Finnish).

What is AI? Can it ever replace people, and if, then where?

FCAI, together with the Aalto School of Business, participates in the International Day of the Girl Child on October 11 in a virtual event where experts contemplate AI and its potential with school classes.

The discussion is hosted by Assistant Professor Arno Solin from FCAI and the Department of Computer Science, and Assistant Professor Eeva Vilkkumaa from the Department of Information and Service Management. Both Solin and Vilkkumaa hope that open and understandable discussions about AI will raise pupils’ interest in the field.

The International Day of the Girl Child is an observance day declared by the United Nations. Its aim is to support girls and their level of social participation around the world. In this sense, there is room for improvement in the field of AI.

“AI is one of the greatest social turning points since the coming of the internet. And women are really underrepresented in this field”, Vilkkumaa says.

Solin notes that the problem is even worse in Finland than in many other countries. The imbalance is not without repercussions.

“AI methods are images of their developers. If all developers are cut from the same cloth, this inevitably influences what is being developed and how the programs work”, Solin says.