As part of TechCrunch’s ongoing Ladies in AI collection, which seeks to provide AI-focused girls lecturers and others their well-deserved — and overdue — time within the highlight, TechCrunch interviewed Marissa Hummon, the chief expertise officer on the power firm Utilidata, the place she is working to make the electrical grid extra sustainable.
“The work that I’m doing at Utilidata is pushing in opposition to the established order of the utility business,” Hummon informed TechCrunch, including that AI is poised to assist the utility sector function extra successfully. “It’s going to give utilities the instruments they should function a clear, trendy, and dependable grid that may higher serve the folks and companies linked to it.”
Hummon began her profession on the Nationwide Renewable Power Lab, the place she centered on easy methods to transfer the power business away from carbon-intensive options to extra clear sources. She recalled having to take a brand new modeling method as a result of sure physics equations had been “unsolvable utilizing conventional analytic strategies.”
“As an alternative we wanted to make use of numerical strategies and machine studying,” she stated. This was again in 2010.
Recommendation to girls
Hummon moved her manner up, working on the power firm Tendril earlier than touchdown the CTO function at Utilidata, a place she’s held since 2018. She obtained a PhD in utilized physics from Harvard and stated that as she made the transition from grad faculty into the engineering area, she seen a major drop within the variety of girls working within the area. “I’ve typically felt the stress of being held to the next commonplace within the office in comparison with my male friends,” she stated.
Hummon stated now as a pacesetter she tries to steer by instance and create alternatives for ladies to steer and be acknowledged. On the identical time, males have to be answerable for creating area for extra girls to enter and keep within the area, she stated.
“The change we want isn’t just in observe; it should be systemic and widespread,” she continued. “It begins with recruiting and hiring, continues with mentoring and training, and culminates with truthful and equitable recognition and promotion — all whereas making a protected and inclusive office.”
Her recommendation to girls getting into the AI area is to all the time do not forget that being a girl may be a bonus. “It’s given you a perspective that’s totally different out of your male friends and breakthroughs in expertise all the time come from distinctive views.”
She says to hunt alternatives with firms which have proven their dedication to range and which have leaders who’ve showcased their efforts to assist girls and minorities. “Decide a possible employer by the way in which they present up within the interview course of, not by the statements or the studies they placed on their web site.”
Constructing moral AI
Hummon stated that customers ought to know that AI just isn’t one thing that may resolve all issues however slightly is an knowledgeable assistant to boost operations, enhance effectiveness, and assist assist.
“Recognizing its limitations and guaranteeing there are correct checkpoints is vital,” she stated.
She stated it’s all the time essential to grasp how generative AI was skilled and constructed to be able to perceive any potential biases it may have. “This information is a robust software when working with language fashions for knowledge evaluation and evaluating the feasibility of options,” she continued. “AI is barely nearly as good as the information and data it was skilled on.”
She additionally gave some recommendations on easy methods to construct protected AI, explaining that Utilidata made an early resolution to maintain all of its knowledge native. “Approaching mannequin constructing utilizing distributed AI computing reduces the quantity and frequency of data being transmitted to the cloud and due to this fact reduces the probabilities of a safety or privateness breach.”
As for traders, she stated — like all the consultants we spoke to — they should consider how an organization needs to make use of AI, particularly since accountable AI appears to be like totally different in each business. “The funding in accountable AI needs to be commensurate with the danger and complexity of any given firm, not an across-the-board commonplace.”
