What are the essentials of building a fairer future with AI?

Gearing up for seismic impact

This is the principle driving AI4ALL, a new fast-growing community of AI change-makers, researchers, educators and professionals, whose mission is ‘to make AI more inclusive, ethical, and accessible for everyone, not just a few.’ Despite being female-led, ‘empowering women’ is just one of the four strategic pillars the foundation sees as essential to create an inclusive future for all. Alongside Women sits Health, Youth and Earth (Sustainability), all chosen for the seismic impact that AI could have in that area, and the lasting ripple of positivity that this would create across multiple demographics and sectors. “AI4ALL includes but goes beyond gender,” says co-founder and co-CEO Karen Harriss. “We want to ensure AI is built by and for a wider population, addressing the world’s greatest challenges: protecting our planet, improving global health, shaping a better future for the next generation and advancing equity for women."

To do this, AI4ALL runs a range of dedicated programs to support their four communities -- health, youth, earth and women - including the female-focused mentorship program and entrepreneur accelerators. It then brings everyone together at both an annual summit, and a Gala and awards ceremony in Amsterdam. While the awards focus on celebrating women change-makers in AI, the summit and community events are a chance to cross-pollinate knowledge, learnings and talent from all four communities.

Exploring the four pillars

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the foundation itself was born from a similar principle of collaboration. In fact, echoing the four communities, AI4All was founded by four female leaders from diverse backgrounds who found they shared a common belief.  Not only that artificial intelligence should benefit everyone, but that it should be shaped by everyone too. Rather than connecting just engineers and technologists, AI4All believes empowering a broad range of society is crucial, and so their community is a fertile blend of experiences and backgrounds - think educators, business leaders, community builders, career switchers and change-makers as well as tech professionals and STEM students. “AI4All welcomes everyone from beginners to experts,” adds Karen, “across all fields and backgrounds. We are dedicated to creating opportunities for underrepresented groups to learn, lead, and thrive in AI,” adds co-founder and co-CEO Oliviana Bailey, “especially women, Black, Latin, Indigenous, and non-binary individuals.”

The result is a fast-growing, vibrant community in the Netherlands and a comprehensive calendar of events already having a far-reaching impact. “We believe that AI has the potential to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges,” says Oliviana. Here’s how they’re making it happen: