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As part of TechCrunch’s ongoing Women in AI series, which seeks to give AI-focused female academics and others their well-deserved (and overdue) time in the spotlight, TechCrunch interviewed Sofia Velastegui. Velastegui is a member of the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Advisory Committee on Artificial Intelligence and a former head of AI for Microsoft’s Business Software division.
Velastegui wasn’t planning to work in artificial intelligence. She studied mechanical engineering as an undergraduate at Georgia Tech. But after landing a job at Apple in 2009, she became fascinated with apps — especially those powered by artificial intelligence.
“I started to realize that AI-powered products resonated with customers, thanks to the feeling of personalization,” Velastegui told TechCrunch. “The possibilities seemed endless to develop AI that could make our lives better on a small and large scale, and I wanted to be part of that revolution. So I started looking for AI-focused projects and took every opportunity to expand from there.”
Artificial intelligence career forward
Velastegui worked on the first MacBook Air — and the first iPad — and soon after was hired as product manager for all of Apple’s laptops and accessories. A few years later, Velastegui moved to Apple’s Enterprise group, where she helped develop CarPlay, iCloud, Apple Maps, Apple’s data pipelines and AI systems.
In 2015, Velastegui joined Google as head of silicon engineering and director of the company’s Nest-branded product line. After a short stint at audio technology company Doppler Labs, she accepted a job offer at Microsoft as general manager of AI and research products.
At Microsoft, where Velastegui eventually led all AI initiatives related to business applications, Velastegui guided teams to integrate products like LinkedIn, Bing, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Azure with AI. She also led explorations and internal projects built using GPT-3, OpenAI’s text generation model, for which Microsoft recently acquired an exclusive license.
“My time at Microsoft was truly special,” Velastegui said. “I joined the company when it was in the midst of huge changes under CEO Satya Nadella. Mentors and colleagues advised me against making the leap in 2017 because they saw Microsoft as a laggard in the industry. But in a short period, Microsoft started making real progress in the field of artificial intelligence.” And I wanted that.
Velastegui left Microsoft in 2022 to start a consulting firm and head product development at Aptiv, an automotive technology company. She will join the NSF Artificial Intelligence Committee, which collaborates with industry, academia and government to support basic AI research, in 2023.
Mobility in the industry
When asked how she deals with the challenges of the male-dominated tech industry, Velastegui praised the women she considers her strongest mentors. Velastegui says it’s important for women to support each other, and perhaps more importantly, for men to stand up for their female coworkers.
“For women in tech, if you’re part of transformation or adoption or change management, you have a right to be at the table, so don’t be afraid to take your seat there,” Velastegui said. “Raise your hand to take on more AI responsibilities, whether that’s part of your current job or an extended project. The best managers will support and encourage you to move forward. But if that’s not possible in ninth or fifth grade, look for communities or university programs where you can Being part of an AI team.
Velastegui points out that the lack of diverse perspectives in the workplace (i.e. AI teams that are mostly made up of men) can lead to groupthink, which is why she advocates for women to share their feedback as much as possible.
“I strongly encourage more women to get involved in AI so that our voices, experiences and perspectives are included in this critical starting point where the fundamental AI technologies of today and the future are defined,” she said. “It is so important that women in every industry turn to AI. When we join the conversation, we can help shape the industry and change this power imbalance.
Velastegui says her work now with NSF is focused on addressing fundamental unresolved issues in AI, such as the lack of what she calls “digital representation.” She asserts that biases and prejudices are widespread in the field of artificial intelligence today, in part due to the homogeneous composition of the companies working to develop it.
“AI is trained on data from developers, but developers are mostly men with specific viewpoints, and they represent a very small subset of the 8 billion people in the world,” she said. “If we don’t include women as developers and if women don’t provide feedback as users, then AI won’t represent them at all.”
Striking a balance between innovation and safety
Velastegui sees the rapid pace of the AI industry as a “huge issue” – the absence of a common framework for ethical integrity. She believes that such a framework, if widely adopted, could allow developers to build systems quickly without stifling innovation.
But she doesn’t count on it.
“We have never seen technology evolve so transformatively and at such a sustained pace,” Velastegui said. “The people, the organization, the legacy systems…there was absolutely nothing to keep up with the current speed of AI. The challenge becomes how to stay informed, up-to-date, and forward-thinking, while being aware of the risks if we move too quickly.”
How can a company – or developer – create AI products responsibly today? Velastegui advocates a “human-centred” approach with learning from past mistakes and prioritizing the well-being of users at its core.
“Companies should enable a diverse, cross-functional AI council that reviews issues and makes recommendations that reflect the current environment, and create channels for regular feedback and oversight that adapt as the AI system evolves,” Velastegui said. Artificial.
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