We cannot sit this revolution out
My fellow moms, as an educated woman, an empowered mom and a CEO of a tech company, I realize that me and all my peers stand on the shoulders of giants. Of women, from all over the world who have fought for generations to be heard, for a seat at every table, and for representation in society's policy and decision making.
We have broken down numerous barriers of generational, age old stereotypes only to now be blindsided again. There is a big, fast approaching system that is already taking these stereotypes further?
I am talking about the AI revolution that has arrived at our doorstep. It is the future and yet it is using past and present to shape the future. At the core AI is learning from everything that is public domain and it will evolve and reinforce what it learns.
What data is AI using? A vast majority of it is created, generated by men. When large language models, large image models were being built they took what existed. And what existed has been created by men for generations, from movies and work of fiction largely representing a male point of view to imagery and content available in the world that builds a male dominated world view.
What is worse, now that these tools are out in the public domain, a vast majority of the users are men. Studies show that women are using, building and demanding very little AI compared to men, which means we stand to not be heard, not be counted when AI shapes new systems in our society. And it is clear from how AI is already representing, interacting with women.
For instance, a Stanford study found AI often predicts gendered pronouns with 30% bias, a nurse is a always a women and an engineer is always a man. We don't want AI telling our daughters (and sons) what they can’t do. We don't want AI to treat women's communication as hesitant and submissive.
The Impact of Biased AI on Gender Stereotypes
Biased AI reinforces harmful gender stereotypes, shaping how our daughters are perceived and treated.
Not made for women's communication styles
AI chatbots often struggle with female communication styles, misinterpreting polite questions from women as less urgent. AI models misinterpret women's communication cues, like hedging phrases, contributing to biased interactions.
Sentiment analysis tools frequently rate female-authored content as more emotional, skewing perceptions. AI translation services can introduce gender bias by defaulting to male pronouns.
Gender bias in AI content -
In AI-generated fiction, women are depicted as passive or supportive characters in 70% of narratives, and only 18% of female characters are shown in leadership roles.
Without more women and girls participating in AI, these biases will persist, limiting our daughters' potential and reinforcing outdated stereotypes.
This is a very troubling picture. We must urgently step up to change this. Now, while it is still early, while it is being shaped. We cannot sit this one out and then regret it later. If we do not act now, the gender gap in AI will widen, leaving our daughters at a disadvantage.
So what can mom’s (and women at large) do?
We don’t all need to be AI engineers with deep technical expertise to contribute (though that is also an important area that needs to be addressed). We can do so as users of AI. The more we use AI for our purposes, explore and interact with AI tools, the more we can help train the models towards a more equitable perspective. When women use AI as much as men, AI models will automatically learn to serve both.
And what can our daughters do?
Trends and patterns are created from a very early age. Girls wearing pink and playing with dolls is a stereotype perpetuated the moment they are born. Did you know most video games are created with boys in mind? There just aren’t enough girl users. We can’t let AI go the same way. Our daughters need to be offered an opportunity to engage with AI from a very young age, learn how to use it, how to leverage it for their needs. This will again shape AI to cater to them.
But there is another big reason. Our daughters' futures will be significantly influenced by AI. The workplace is transforming, and within the next decade, most jobs will change dramatically. To keep up, our children need a different skill set—one that includes proficiency with AI.
LittleLit's Commitment to the Girls in AI Movement
Me and my partner (equally committed to the cause) have built LittleLit with a commitment to participate in making girls change makers for AI. LittleLit is built for young kids, where they create amazing projects using AI, from artwork, creative writing, design to school work. LittleLit offers kids a Girls-First AI model.
The Girls-First AI Model -
Right out of the gate let me say, we haven't set out to build AI that caters to just girls. Isolating one gender is not the answer. But we are building something that corrects the existing biases, a model trained to be equitable. Our models embrace diversity and ensure kids are not in any way prompted to perpetuate stereotypes. We want our daughters to feel empowered and our sons to be open to that possibility.
If a child creates a story with LittleLit, our AI is trained to avoid gender stereotypes and blindspots. If a child creates an image with LittleLit, our AI is trained to ensure both genders are represented. LittleLit's AI is trained on girls speech and communication patterns allowing it to fluently understand girl pov as much as boys.
Keeping girls engagement at the forefront -
So we want our kids to learn AI, our girls to learn AI. But how? Young kids learn through play, they play what engages them. So we wanted to ensure we are offering a wide variety of creative project play within LittleLit so girls feel connected and engaged as much as boys. We consciously moved away from traditional boy centric template of video game play and shaped a platform that is creative, open ended with room for all play styles. The goal is to ensure all kids (especially girls) feel comfortable and engaged with LittleLit.
With LittleLit we want to empower young girls we want them to lead the charge on what deciding how AI should assist them in their endeavours.
In conclusion,
My fellow moms, the threat of not participating is clear: without our intervention, AI will continue to perpetuate existing biases and widen the gender gap in AI.
So lets make a pledge. A pledge to use AI every day as women and a pledge to encourage our daughters to do the same.
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