Mentoring New Talent for AI Careers

By Thalea Torres, AI4ALL and Sydney Parker, foundry10

The future job market favors candidates with AI skills and literacy. AI4ALL equips emerging talent historically excluded from AI careers with education and mentorship.

Guidance from a mentor is a crucial part of a student’s support system as they prepare to enter their career — particularly a career in AI. AI4ALL students benefit from a low student-to-mentor ratio as they prepare their AI portfolio projects.

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the job market and the world. According to the The State of AI in Early 2024 McKinsey Global Survey, 65% of respondents report that their organizations are now regularly using generative AI, nearly double the amount who reported using the technology in the August 2023 McKinsey survey.

These findings are mirrored in the 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn, which reports on how fast the demand for employees with AI literacy has grown. For example:

• 66% of leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI literacy.
• 71% say they’d rather hire a less experienced candidate with AI literacy than a more experienced candidate without them.
• 77% of leaders say early-in-career talent with AI literacy will be given greater responsibilities.

Young people entering the workforce who have already developed AI literacy in school will likely have an advantage over those who don’t. Barriers that prevent historically excluded talent from entering this field include a lack of exposure to technical concepts early, few relatable role models and mentors, and lack of peer-to-peer support.

Additionally, lack of access to high-speed internet, appropriate devices, and digital skills training can prevent youth from participating in AI learning and other online spaces. Nationally, there are many gaps in who has access to the educational opportunities and online spaces necessary for AI literacy development. For example, in Washington state:

• Students who have disabilities or are women, American Indian/Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, English learners, and eligible for free and reduced-price meals are underrepresented in Washington K-12 computer science classes. (OSPI 2021)
• In 2020, only 35% of students completing associate degrees or bachelor’s degrees in STEM subjects and only 22% completing degrees in computer science were female. (2021 WA STEM Education Report Card)
• Washington computer science teachers were more likely than teachers statewide to hold limited certificates or to be teaching “out of field.” Out-of-field status means a teacher taught one or more courses outside of their endorsement area, or outside of grade level that their endorsement is capable of. (OSPI 2021)

Fortunately, there are many organizations working to promote digital equity alongside growing movements in education to develop students’ AI literacy and technical skills. This work contributes to improving youth learning outcomes, career outcomes, and life outcomes.

As Andre M. Perry and Nicol Turner Lee put it in an article for Brookings Metro, “We must diversify the pool of technology creators to incorporate people of color in all aspects of AI development, while continuing to train teachers on its proper usage and building in regulations to punish discrimination in its application.”

“AI is only as good as the information and values of the programmers who design it, and their biases can ultimately lead to both flaws in the technology and amplified biases in the real world,” wrote Perry and Lee.

AI Mentorship for a Better Future

AI4ALL, a national non-profit organization, is working to establish the next generation of AI Changemakers that humanity needs by equipping diverse, emerging talent with the responsible AI skills and social capital needed for collective success..

Participants in the AI4ALL Ignite program enroll in a curriculum uniquely designed for Black, Latinx/e, Indigenous, women, and non-binary college students who are considering pursuing an AI career. They join an exclusive community of AI4ALL alumni, AI practitioners, and sponsors to develop the key AI skills and network necessary to join the AI industry workforce.

AI4ALL mentors are trained in a strength-based approach to feedback to ensure mentors and students alike are focusing on what students already have in their toolbox to help them build a larger tool set. Students who have received mentorship through AI4ALL have utilized AI to build projects relevant to their interests and experience. For example:

• A sensor that would use sensor data and computer vision to alert beekeepers via a mobile app to the onset of colony collapse
• AI-assisted methods for tracking the flow of contaminated water in the student’s hometown
• AI to determine whether soil samples contain organic material with the goal of searching for life on Mars
• Projects that leverage images (photos, MRIs, etc.) to train AI to identify different medical conditions (cancer, Alzheimers, etc.)

Providing mentorship to the diverse students in the AI4ALL program can help diversify the development landscape for these technologies, ultimately helping to reduce the bias and discrimination currently present in many AI-technologies.

Making the Most of Your Mentor

The Technology, Media, and Information Literacy (TMIL) team at foundry10 was excited to amplify the efforts of AI4ALL to help young people be critical users and developers of AI. We were interested in learning more from AI4ALL about their mentorship program and how young people can make the most of their relationships with mentors.

“Our work in the technology literacy space has revealed that achieving a reality where AI adds to rather than detracts value from human endeavors, requires the individuals developing AI, and the data used to train AI models, to reflect a diverse range of humanity and human experiences. This is currently not the case,” said Riddhi Divanji, Technology, Media, and Information Literacy Team Lead. “That’s why AI4ALL’s programs that provide mentorship and create supportive pathways for students traditionally underrepresented in technology-development fields are so necessary and we were glad to be able to support and learn from their excellent work.”

foundry10 asked Thalea Torres, AI4ALL Senior Manager of Programs & Impact Evaluation, for advice on how young people can prepare to meet their mentor, what makes for a lasting mentor relationship, and what young people should expect (and not expect) from their mentor.

Read Thalea’s insights below!

4 Tips for Building a Great Mentor Relationship

Thalea says preparing to meet your mentor, engaging in genuine conversations, keeping the goal of learning front and center, and being respectful of your mentor’s time are some of the ways young people can build lasting relationships with their career mentors.

• Practice and preparation are key! Before meeting a mentor or going to a networking event, get clear on your goal from the experience. Do you want to learn about their path for inspiration? Do you want tips on classes or topics to learn more about? Would you like to understand how to improve your resume, or questions to expect in an interview?
• When you are clear on your goals, it will ensure you get value out of the experience. Share your questions or intentions prior to a networking event with your friends, and encourage them to share theirs. You can also practice introductions with each other so it won’t be your first time doing so at the networking event.
• Genuine connection will yield lasting relationships. The goal of networking is to connect, and connection is best done genuinely. Ask questions and engage in conversations you are interested in knowing more about and reflect on what you’ve learned and how it can apply to your journey,
• The goal of mentoring is not to get it right every time, but to learn. In AI4ALL programs, mentors are a key part of students’ learning as they leverage their expertise to guide the creation of their AI projects. Not all mentoring relationships involve moments of “performance,” but it is important to remember that the goal is not to bring a finished product or career to a mentor relationship, but rather to evolve and learn towards that.
• So, don’t be afraid to ask your question, to clarify for a third time if an explanation isn’t making sense to you, or to submit multiple drafts of something for review!
• Be conscious of your mentor’s time. Avoid asking for multiple connections in a short period of time with questions as they come, and instead lean towards gathering and streamlining your questions in preparation for an interaction to ensure you are being efficient in your mentor meetings. You can also ask for your mentor’s guidance and advice on how to respect and leverage their time best.

What to Expect from a Mentor

Thalea encourages young people to ask questions, come to sessions with a topic in mind to explore, and listen deeply to the lessons conveyed from a mentor’s experience.

• A mentor is a sounding board and guide to your career. They are not meant to make decisions for you, but to share their experiences, inform you of industry expectations, and ask you the questions that will help you better understand your own goals and the steps needed to get there.
• Mentors want to share their experience. You can confidently ask for your mentor’s understanding of their industry or experience — they are there to share their wisdom with you!
• Prepare a question or topic you want to cover. Having a topic in mind to explore every time you connect keeps the sessions structured. Additionally, you want to remain open and listen to what the mentor is sharing. It is a great time to get context for their experiences to best understand how it applies to your journey.

Mentors Wanted at AI4ALL

AI4ALL views community and mentorship as a key element for persisting and thriving in a career. These are key elements of their programs! AI4ALL recruits volunteer opportunities twice a year for AI professionals and technical recruiters.

Learn more about Technology, Media, and Information Literacy at foundry10.