The 10 most innovative women in Artificial Intelligence

Despite represent more than half of the world's population, only one in three researchers is a woman, according to the United Nations. Other data also show gender inequality, although in recent years the picture has been changing.

Women make up only 28% of all engineering graduates and 40% of computer science and information technology graduates. And it doesn't end there: as well as having shorter careers, they are paid less than men. One fact explains the situation: only 6% of the 947 scientists who have received the Nobel Prize were women.

Another bad example came from Amazon, which, in 2018, discarded a resume analysis program based on artificial intelligence after discovering that the tool did not classify women for more technical positions, such as software developer. As most of the CVs were from men, the program started to discriminate against women when selecting candidates. 

To try to fill the gender gap, major technology companies have launched programs to train women in Artificial Intelligence in recent years. This is the case with Microsoft, which in September last year opened registration for the third edition of the #ElasNaIA which offered 40 training places.

Despite the difficulties and discrimination, more and more women are standing out in the technology sector and contributing to major advances in the field of Artificial Intelligence.

One of them is Brazilian and her name is Manoela Morais. Together with two other women, Chimka Munkhbayar and Helen Tsai, they have created a solution called Agrollya software solution that helps farmers plan crop production and minimize risks caused by extreme weather conditions.

In 2021, Manoela was one of the 40 winners of the annual annual Women Leaders in AI (program, which recognizes innovative female business leaders from 18 countries who are using IBM Watson to help drive transformation, growth and innovation across a wide variety of industries.

The specialist magazine AI Magazine recently listed the 10 most innovative women in the Artificial Intelligence industry in IBM's "Top 100 Women in Technology" ranking.

Meet the 10 most innovative women in the Artificial Intelligence industry

10) Rana el Kaliouby

A computer science graduate from Cambridge University and MIT, Rana el Kaliouby is the CEO and co-founder of Affectiva, a company that uses AI to recognize human emotions.

9) Shivon Zilis

Shivon Zilis is project director at Neuralink, Elon Musk's company that researches the interface between brain and machine. She was previously a project director at Tesla and is currently a member of the board of OpenAI, a non-profit artificial intelligence research organization that aims to promote and develop user-friendly AI.

8) Anna Patterson

Former vice president of engineering at Google, Anna Patterson is the founder of Gradient Ventures, a company under Google's umbrella that helps other technology companies structure themselves on the market.

7) Kamelia Aryafar

Head of Google's algorithm and dedicated to applying AI and machine learning to solve retailers' problems.

6) Poornima Ramaswamy

With more than 20 years of experience, Poornima Ramaswamy works at Qlik, a company that transforms data into intelligence and provides consultancy for companies seeking to achieve objectives and optimize processes.

5) Fei-Fei Li

A professor of computer science at Stanford University, Fei-Fei Li made a name for herself in AI thanks to the ImageNet project, a large visual database designed for use in visual object recognition software research.

4) Daniela Rus

Director of MIT's Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science laboratory, Daniela Rus is responsible for designing robots that can reconfigure themselves without human intervention.

3) Joy Buolamwini

Founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, a pioneering organization in the fight against bias in AI, Joy Buolamwini is an activist who works at MIT's Media Lab with the aim of identifying prejudices in algorithms.

2) Mariah Scott

Mariah Scott is president of Skyward, a Verizon subsidiary that develops technology for drones and autonomous vehicles. She is even a certified drone pilot.

1) Lisa Su

Lisa Su is president and CEO of AMD (Advanced Micro Devices), a leading semiconductor company that develops computer processors and graphics units vital for AI.