remix to cognition

… hot and fresh out the AI kitchen

Last week, a cohort of fgc gals hit up CogX. CogX,  by CognitionX, showcases ALL the current & possible applications of artificial intelligence (AI).

We asked the fgc attendees to share their thoughts on AI & let us in on how they want to use it in their businesses.

These are the gals who kindly gave their two cents on AI. Peep their initials so you know who said what below.

Q1 // What are your thoughts on AI? Is it cool? Scary? Positive?

“AI is incredibly positive, the possibilities it creates are crazy and most of which we cannot even comprehend yet. AI itself is not scary but humans potential use of it for negative purposes is.” - CD

"It’s pretty frickin' sweet & thankfully looks be a positive development for more people as positionalities were constantly brought into conversation. However, positive impact is uneven & some people/industries will reap benefits from AI more than others. With something like blockchain, there’s a small population in the sector & it is mastered by few as there a lot of social, financial, & intellectual hurdles. Therefore, a handful of people will benefit greatly. However, AI in infrastructure can make things like travel more effective helping to dissolve geography & financial exclusion linked to it." - EC

"AI is another human invention which will probably be neither brilliant nor catastrophic but both in different situations and instances." - TA

"AI is very cool. It has the potential to streamline and democratise some many areas; homelessness, education, access to mental and physical healthcare" - CP 

"I have mixed feelings because it's exciting to see the possibilities yet there are so many valid concerns to tackle." - LD 

"The possibilities are really exciting. Not only is the development of the tech itself but the ancillary industries that will be affected by these technologies - in particular, media & comms in which I work- will be disrupted and propelled in ways we can only begin to anticipate. I'm optimistic about AI as long as we match private sector experimentation with the appropriate legal and governance frameworks." - OY

"AI is exciting but definitely overhyped! A lot of the fear around new tech comes from a misunderstanding which is one reason why events like CogX are so important. We're nowhere near being able to create killer robots or even chatbots that can interact as well as a primary school child. The possibilities of AI are super cool, as we free up human time from tedious tasks, people will be free to create and explore in completely new ways. " - RC

"I spent a lot of time at the Ethics stage and heard all about diversity, fake news, mental health. My mind is blown - I still have so many questions... I loved CogX and wish it was on for the whole week!" - CS

sophia (the robot)

"I really want to make a difference in the future and help people develop empathy and respect for each other and robots alike”

Q2 // What’s your plan for AI?

"I want AI to feed into the process of buying garment digitally, and helping reduce waste by showing the customer how pieces will fit and work on them digitally, alongside being able to predict what styles they want in the first place! " - CD

"My employer, Seenit, use AI & machine learning analyse video to a complex degree, i.e. variables such as colour, human sentiment, & audio quality, which is totally changing video search & use." - EC

"I plan apply it to web 2.0 technology enable like-minded people to connect in the 3-dimensional world." - TA

"I am looking to build a Fat Girl chatbot to help girls struggling with eating disorder and body image issues with instant access to support" - CP

"For as part of workflow elegance for creatives!" - LD

"We use social listening and analytic tools that leverage AI technologies - but the event has opened up several new software offerings that I'm keen to follow up!" - OY

"We're exploring using AI in customer service for automated & concise problem solving to allow us to help more women. We're also looking into AI in our R&D process and in our logistics. Over the next decade success in business will be about who can get it to market fastest and who can get it to customers fastest." - RC

Q3 // What did you learn at CogX? Are you mega shook?

"The future is now! Tech moves so fast, going to an expo like this made me excited for what could be possible in 3, 5, and 10 years time" - CD

"I went to the final blockchain talk (thank the Lord I knew some industry & tech lingo otherwise I would have been totally miffed) and I don’t think I could have learnt more in that 30 minutes. Blockchain Ideologies, new cryptocurrencies, areas to invest, & personalities where on full display & it was fascinating. " - EC

"Cog X 2018 was a brilliant opportunity to meet and speak with a diverse range of people managing artificial intelligence including fellow investors. Almost a year ago I read about a consortium of European banks building a cryptocurrency; two days ago I met a board member of one of those banks!" - TA

"I learnt that healthcare makes up 10% of our economy which is major! And I also learnt that 90% of all posts online go unliked. Not directly AI facts, but the latter is definitely an important one for our mental well-being. I think CogX is the best event of the year! Bring on 2019" - CP

"The ethical debates at CogX were fascinating and particularly pertinent given current debates around data ownership and privacy. Gained loads of useful insights that I'm sharing with my team, and was really fired up by the event!!" - OY

"AI algorithms used by the police or banks have already been shown to discriminate against ethnic minorities. Self driving cars that can't detect female voices because the men that made them didn't think of that, could be dangerous. It's great to see steps being taken to recognise and correct bias so that we can focus on that not the sheer “coolness” of new advances in AI." - RC

Q4 // Final thoughts? Any resources the fgc community should look into?

"It's very important to open these kinds to events to people who wouldn't ordinarily go to them - like those of us who don't work for IBM, so it's brilliant Tabitha X FGC do this. I would recommend Tabitha's CognitionX daily newsletter as well as Azeem Azar's Exponential View newsletter." - CP

"Representing women in tech is so important, as well as thinking about non-conventional applications of these technologies beyond their suggested uses. " - OY

" For me, CogX iterates the need for there to be a stage for industries as it folds in that invaluable third party perspective & knowledge cross-over." - EC

Overall...

It was a super informative event as #AI can be used in anything from ‘sex robots” to preventing environmental disasters.

Thank you Claire, Tayo, Clementine, Lor, Olivia, Rachael, & Christina (who even wore fgc colours of hot pink & internet blue) for taking the time to write up your ideas & to all the girls who came to the mini-meet ups.

We’re so grateful for the passes Tabitha Goldstaub, co-founder of CognitionX & Future Girl Corp, provided to the fgc gang. As you can see they were put to good use.

If that isn’t enough #AI for ya, check CognitionX’s Youtube for all the talks from CogX & follow their Twitter for the latest developments in the industry.

xx