To support our vision of an inclusive AI tech future, Women in AI Ethics (WAIE) has launched the “I…

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This campaign showcases multidisciplinary talent in this space by featuring career journeys and the work of women as well as non-binary folks from diverse backgrounds building the future of AI.

By raising awareness about the different pathways into AI and making it more accessible, we want to inspire participation from historically underrepresented groups so that together we can build a more equitable and ethical tech future.

In this episode, we have Ethically Aligned AI CEO and Founder, Katrina Ingram as she shares what inspired her to join this space, how she landed in her current role, the different kinds of barriers she encountered in the space, and how she’s overcome them along with the hurdles she deals with on a daily basis. She also has some practical advice for anyone who comes from a non-technical background but wants to make an impact in this space.

You can listen to the podcast or read through their conversation below.

What really inspired you to join this space?

I got started in the world of AI ethics a few years ago. I was at the University of Alberta doing a master’s degree when I wandered into a lecture that was being given by a prominent AI researcher and he was really concerned about some of the harmful consequences that he saw happening as a result of AI gone wrong.

And that really inspired me to focus my research on the area of AI and ethics and in particular, how ethics can be applied in the development and deployment of AI. And when I graduated in 2020, I looked around to see who was doing work in this area. And in Western Canada, there were few, if any people who were really dedicated to this field. And so that’s really what inspired me to launch my company and really focus my attention on the area of AI ethics.

How did you land your current role?

So I had a very circuitous career journey into this world and landed here a bit by accident. But I started my career many years ago in the tech industry. So about 20 years ago, I started out as a technology marketer and it was that experience of being really upfront and close and personal within the tech industry where I encountered a lot of things that I think now have been exacerbated in tech in the last 20 years. So maybe this overabundance of optimism about technology being the solution to all kinds of problems.

And when I think about some of the challenges that we’re seeing now is everything is more and more check enabled. It seems like every company is, to some degree, a software company. Every company is using data. Every company is becoming digital. And so that’s why I think this area of AI ethics is so important as every company becomes more smart-enabled, and is using AI technologies to do all kinds of things and not really always thinking through what’s being done or who’s being harmed. I think we need to have more people working on these issues.

Coming from a non-traditional or non-technical background, what barriers did you encounter and how did you overcome them?

So as someone who comes from a non-technical background coming into a technical field can feel a little bit intimidating. And I think that’s a challenge that all of us with non-technical backgrounds need to overcome. I usually say in every presentation that I give...

In fact, I think that this field needs more people who come from different kinds of backgrounds who have backgrounds in the social sciences and communications and the humanities, philosophers, people with law backgrounds. We really need a wide range of perspectives in order to really deal with these issues well, and really ensure that we’re looking at all the angles and looking at things in ways that will bring to the foreground some of the things that don’t get spotted when you have a set of blinders on. And unfortunately in the technology industry, we haven’t done a good job of diversifying the workforce. It’s a very homogenous group of people that tend to get represented. And I think we see that in the kinds of technology that are being made and the types of problems that are being solved and the approach that’s being taken. And in fact, it’s that lack of diversity that has led to a lot of the issues that we’re encountering now when it comes to AI ethics.

What kind of issues in AI do you tackle in your day-to-day work?

So the problems that I’m working on in this field are fairly diverse. I wouldn’t say that I specialize in any one thing. I tend to talk more generally about these issues. And as someone who has a background in education, a lot of the work that I’m doing right now is really in the realm of education.

So I’ve been working with Athabaskan University to develop Canada’s first micro-credential in AI ethics. It’s really conceived as professional development for people who are working in the field or for companies who are looking at deploying AI solutions and helping them to really understand what the core issues are and what they can do to ensure that the technology that they’re building and deploying is safe and not causing harm.

So I think that a lot of what I do is a little bit more general than specialized, but I think we need that as well. We need people who are kind of bringing the full scope of the issues to bear and giving people the tools that they need in order to deal with the issues. And that I think will then get into the specializations of dealing with algorithmic bias or dealing with how to ensure data sets are not exhibiting any kinds of bias and so forth.

What is your advice to those from non-traditional backgrounds who want to do meaningful work in this space on how to overcome barriers like tech bro culture, lack of ethical funding/opportunities, etc.?

I think that there’s so much room for a wide range of talent to come into the space of AI ethics. These are big problems that we’re dealing with. They’re systemic challenges, they’re ongoing issues and so it really doesn’t matter what your background is coming into this field. Whatever you have to offer, whatever you have to bring to this field, this is necessary because we do need people who can do a myriad of things in order to solve the issues that we’re talking about. And so whether that’s about education, the arts, whether you’re coming at this from a legal perspective, whether you’re coming at this from a philosophical perspective, we absolutely need to have people with a wide range of opinions and skillsets.

And so I would encourage anyone who’s interested in working in this field just to start making connections, start to find groups like Women In AI Ethics to connect with, start to learn about what the core issues are when it comes to AI ethics, and then look at all of that and what you have to offer and combine those things and find your space within this field.