AI Spectra Bootcamp
An outreach program exploring Artificial Intelligence careers at the intersection of the sciences and humanities
Today, Artificial intelligence (AI) has manifested itself in all aspects of our lives, yet we see numerous use cases where AI has also failed in its purpose. Even if we dismiss the representation of AI in sci-fi movies as unnecessarily alarmist, we are all aware of how biased AI systems can impact real people’s lives. As an example, consider how Amazon’s AI recruiting software can penalize resumes for including the word “women” or Google’s photo identification software can label Black people as “gorillas”. Bias is inevitable when the algorithms driving AI rely on datasets and images that are classified and labeled inaccurately based on traditional perceptions. Also, bias is manifested because the creators of AI are not necessarily the end-users of AI. To engineer usable and accessible AI systems, we must create a diverse technical workforce that has a sound understanding of the ethical implications of using AI and an ability to identify unique AI applications by integrating various disciplines.
While attending the AI4ALL outreach program at UC Berkeley in 2019, I realized that a diversity of viewpoints could only be incorporated into AI systems if we created the pipeline for a diverse workforce. It was obvious that enabling girls from underrepresented communities to get involved in STEM and spark their interest in fields like AI, was a crucial step towards this goal. Girls often get discouraged from pursuing STEM disciplines like AI, due to gender bias, stereotypes, the unsupportive atmosphere in educational institutions, and school clubs. Due to these factors, many young women are unaware of the creativity involved in STEM and how easily and effectively it may be applied to fields that may traditionally appear to be more interesting to them like fashion, art, environment, music, and language.
As a female member and the Vice-Captain of the Leland FTC Quixilver 8404 Robotics team, I found myself already in a unique position to encourage STEM education among underrepresented minorities in tech, especially girls of a young age through mentoring FLL teams. I realized that activism could begin even on a small stage and founded the AI Spectra program after applying and receiving an Aspire IT grant for $3000, to fund my initiative from the National Center for Women in Technology (NCWIT). I worked hard to develop the modules and videos to host boot camps that would motivate the next generation of girls to think outside the box. I relied upon my personal experiences of imposter syndrome to design activities that would introduce technical topics to young girls without intimidation. In fact, the hardest challenge was to develop a meaningful curriculum and design the interactive workshops, so that the students would stay engaged over the virtual sessions.
To start the outreach, I scouted for students who could be my partners in this initiative as well as great role models for the attendees. The other two members of the team are Anahita Kashani Gregg and Amelia Khor, both Leland High School students, who are also members of the world ranked Leland FTC 8404 Quixilver robotics team. Both students have considerable experience conducting workshops and managing outreach efforts.
As a student-run outreach program, AI Spectra is focused on bringing FREE structured, hands-on, interactive workshops on Artificial Intelligence to middle school girls and non-binary students. The focus of the program is to help young women explore the wide spectrum of AI’s real-world applications across disciplines like art, environment, music, language, and fashion so that students could explore various AI careers at the intersection of the sciences and humanities. AI Spectra’s curriculum is designed to help girls realize how simple it is to get started in tech and design simple solutions to solve some of the most fundamental and complex problems in society.
We have also partnered with LITAS Learn for Girls, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that aims to inspire middle school girls to pursue careers in STEM. LITAS is the Global Finalist for the 2019 Nature Innovating Science Award and Anvita Gupta, the CEO / Founder has a successful track record of helping other programs (SheSTEM, Tinkering with EV3, My STEMpowerment) to launch their outreach efforts with Aspire IT grants. Additionally, LITAS has its own learning platform litaslearn.org, which includes modules in AI, web development, and Python.
There is no barrier to entry because the boot camp attendees are not required to have any prior coding experience, only an interest in computer science. The boot camp will provide an introduction to how AI works and various machine learning (ML) algorithms, such as Decision Trees and Neural Networks. From simple group activities to tensor flow demos, students will gain the introductory background knowledge they need to create their own simple Machine Learning models.
The program is structured into four modules, each focusing on a specific aspect of AI and application within that field. The module on “AI and Art” teaches how AI can be used in art and photography, how filters can turn a simple selfie into an oil painting, and how generated art can create animations. Students will also create their own simple animation in Javascript. The module on “AI and Music” teaches how to compose soundtrack music for movies, commercials, games, and trailers that may span a wide range of emotions and moods using AI. The “AI and Environment” module focuses on how different classification techniques may be used to help detect pollution and solve the problems of climate change. Students will use the famous Iris Dataset to create a neural network in Python utilizing Google Collaboratories. And finally, the module on “AI and Fashion” will show how to use AI and ML algorithms to design products and fashions that predict customer preferences and make the manufacturing supply chain more efficient by designing customized and wearable costumes for specific purposes like dance or sports. Additionally, the boot camp will feature a panel discussion on the ethical aspects of using AI in creative fields.
Initially designed as an on-site outreach program AI Spectra planned to target multiple Bay Area communities irrespective of zip codes. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a change in our plans. Currently, the program is being offered virtually through the ZOOM platform and applications are open to all students within the United States, including the Almaden community.
Despite the unpredictability of the times, we are confident and optimistic about potentially expanding the scope of the program beyond 2020, by including students and regional leaders from other countries to reach even more diverse communities.
If you or anyone you know would like to apply, please note that registrations are open for the AI Spectra Bootcamp
Additionally, students can visit their website and corresponding YouTube channel to learn some of the basic concepts taught in the boot camp.
