A Future-Focused Partner: The FREE STEM Fund

The Built-in Bias in Artificial Intelligence

Beyza Doğuç, an artist and academic in Turkey, wanted to use Generative AI to help write a story about a doctor and a nurse. No matter how many prompts Beyza entered, the AI platform always produced a story where the doctor was male, and the nurse female. It could not generate a story without dated, western examples.

The very modern, very high-tech AI platform was very gender biased.

“The AI explained it was because of the data it had been trained on and specifically, “word embedding” – which means the way certain words are encoded in machine learning to reflect their meaning and association.”

In other words, “Artificial intelligence mirrors the biases that are present in our society and that manifest in AI training data,” said Doğuç, in a recent interview with UN Women.

Whoever develops AI, and decides on the kind of data it is trained on, has biased implications for AI-powered solutions.

Why Bias in AI Matters

AI bias is a mirror for human bias.

In a world that regrettably equates Iraq only with war and oil, and Iraqis with desert-dwellers and terrorists, there was already a serious bias about the country before AI became popular.

In a Google Image search for the word “Iraq” the images that are first served by the algorithm are of nationalism or war. There is no daily life, no joy, no progress, few women, and no tech. And on photo sites like Flickr, the odds are high that you might be served photos of US soldiers, munitions or protestors rather than Iraqi people.

Not only is AI biased, but it presents a biased view of the past and no view of the present day. 

The only way for the world to see a more correct, current, and honest picture of Iraq is to provide better data—by Iraqis. And in particular, by Iraqi women.

Because without better data and better stories, Iraq will never see better opportunities for all of its people.

The FREE STEM Fund—A Future-Focused Partner 

The FREE STEM Fund understands that the future is more just and promising for all when women and girls are empowered partners in the STEM sector—science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

As they say, “The FREE STEM Fund aims to narrow the gender gap.”

Women and girls will only gain a seat at the “digital table” when they have the language and skills needed to engage. WorkWell is dedicated to unlocking potential in underserved communities–including women and girls–through cutting-edge tech education. We believe in creating opportunities for all, fostering skills, and building futures. We support young people in Kurdistan and Iraq to dive into a world where technology education is the key to empowerment and growth.

For our relaunch in 2024, WorkWell focused first on providing opportunities for young women. And we could only do that because of a supporting partner like The FREE STEM Fund. WorkWell is grateful for the vision, partnership, and funding provided. It is encouraging to know that we are part of a global community–from Iraq to Eswatini, Bolivia, India, Brazil, and countries all around the world–that are making it possible for the future of tech to be more equitable and less biased.