While many people fear the rise of artificial intelligence, some in Wisconsin's tech industry see it as an opportunity to bring more people from marginalized communities into the field.
Nadiyah Johnson, founder and CEO of the Milky Way Tech Hub — a group that primarily focuses on supporting women of color in tech in Milwaukee — said AI is not going away anytime soon. She described it as a possible "door-opener."
"With AI, specifically, these robust language models, they can be leveraged to really open door career paths, not just in the field of technology, but in different spaces that typically marginalized communities did not necessarily have access to," she said.
The technology is raising concerns over how Wisconsin will address its potential to replace and automate jobs. But Johnson and other leaders say that with intentional education, training and support, there's an opportunity for women and people from marginalized communities to leverage the technology.
Artificial intelligence is a field of computer science that trains machines to perform complex tasks, with generative AI behind chatbots like ChatGPT. The technology can produce text, images and audio that appear to have been created by humans. Some experts have warned AI poses risks to humanity. And many employers see it as a more cost-efficient way to conduct business — ChatGPT has already replaced some jobs.
In Wisconsin, there are 87,082 jobs in the tech industry, according to a report this year from The Computing Technology Industry Association. Overall, the direct economic impact of the tech sector is estimated to be $21.1 billion.
Statewide, women make up about 28 percent of the tech workforce, according to the same report. That's up slightly from the national average of 26 percent. Wisconsin's Black population comprises 3 percent of the tech workforce, as does the Hispanic/Latino population.
Johnson said as a Black woman in STEM, she's seen recent efforts focused on increasing representation for women in the field.
Continue reading: https://www.wpr.org/artificial-intelligence-ai-women-wisconsin-tech-industry