As part of TechCrunch’s ongoing Girls in AI collection, which seeks to offer AI-focused ladies lecturers and others their well-deserved — and overdue — time within the highlight, TechCrunch interviewed Marissa Hummon, the chief expertise officer on the vitality firm Utilidata, the place she is working to make the electrical grid extra sustainable.
“The work that I’m doing at Utilidata is pushing towards the established order of the utility trade,” Hummon informed TechCrunch, including that AI is poised to assist the utility sector function extra successfully. “It’ll give utilities the instruments they should function a clear, fashionable, and dependable grid that can higher serve the individuals and companies related to it.”
Hummon began her profession on the Nationwide Renewable Power Lab, the place she targeted on how you can transfer the vitality trade away from carbon-intensive options to extra clear sources. She recalled having to take a brand new modeling strategy as a result of sure physics equations have been “unsolvable utilizing conventional analytic strategies.”
“As a substitute we wanted to make use of numerical strategies and machine studying,” she stated. This was again in 2010.
Recommendation to ladies
Hummon moved her approach up, working on the vitality firm Tendril earlier than touchdown the CTO position at Utilidata, a place she’s held since 2018. She obtained a PhD in utilized physics from Harvard and stated that as she made the transition from grad faculty into the engineering discipline, she seen a major drop within the variety of ladies working within the discipline. “I’ve typically felt the strain of being held to the next normal within the office in comparison with my male friends,” she stated.
Hummon stated now as a pacesetter she tries to steer by instance and create alternatives for girls to steer and be acknowledged. On the identical time, males have to be liable for creating area for extra ladies to enter and keep within the discipline, she stated.
“The change we want isn’t just in observe; it should be systemic and widespread,” she continued. “It begins with recruiting and hiring, continues with mentoring and training, and culminates with truthful and equitable recognition and promotion — all whereas making a secure and inclusive office.”
Her recommendation to ladies getting into the AI discipline is to all the time do not forget that being a lady could be a bonus. “It’s given you a perspective that’s completely different out of your male friends and breakthroughs in expertise all the time come from distinctive views.”
She says to hunt alternatives with corporations which have proven their dedication to range and which have leaders who’ve showcased their efforts to assist ladies and minorities. “Choose a possible employer by the way in which they present up within the interview course of, not by the statements or the stories they placed on their web site.”
Constructing moral AI
Hummon stated that customers ought to know that AI isn’t one thing that may clear up all issues however moderately is an skilled assistant to reinforce operations, enhance effectiveness, and assist assist.
“Recognizing its limitations and making certain there are correct checkpoints is essential,” she stated.
She stated it’s all the time necessary to grasp how generative AI was skilled and constructed with the intention to perceive any potential biases it might have. “This data is a robust device when working with language fashions for information evaluation and evaluating the feasibility of options,” she continued. “AI is barely pretty much as good as the information and data it was skilled on.”
She additionally gave some recommendations on how you can construct secure AI, explaining that Utilidata made an early choice to maintain all of its information native. “Approaching mannequin constructing utilizing distributed AI computing reduces the quantity and frequency of data being transmitted to the cloud and subsequently reduces the probabilities of a safety or privateness breach.”
As for buyers, she stated — like all the consultants we spoke to — they should consider how an organization desires to make use of AI, particularly since accountable AI seems completely different in each trade. “The funding in accountable AI needs to be commensurate with the danger and complexity of any given firm, not an across-the-board normal.”
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