Anca D. Goron: Artificial intelligence is already shaping the future of humanity
The world of information technology is no longer a male domain. Although there are more female role models in the IT sector today than ever before, the fairer sex still represents less than 30% of the IT workforce. Diversity, including gender diversity, drives creativity, creative ideas and innovation. This makes the need to highlight the achievements of women in the technology sector all the more important. Anca D. Goron, an artificial intelligence expert from Romania, answers questions about what the beginnings and the actual career of a woman in this field looks like, what challenges she has had to fight and how she sees the future of information technology and artificial intelligence.
As a woman in IT, I have faced several challenges
Ms. Goron, you have been in the information technology (IT) sector for more than 18 years. Many women who have succeeded in this industry have an inspiring story behind them. How did you get into this field? Did you have any inspiration, either in your immediate surrounding or a particular role model? What were your study years like?
From a young age I was a curious child with a great imagination, but at the same time a bit of an introvert living in my own fantasy world. My family always said I was always with my mind in the clouds. I loved books as well as maths and physics, but I chose a career in IT pretty much at random. My dream was to go to a top Ivy League school in the US and then do something that would have a positive impact on the world around me. At that time, for a girl living in Eastern Europe, engineering seemed to be one of the most promising fields. However, due to certain circumstances, I had to postpone this plan and enrolled in a polytechnic university in my city with the intention of transferring to my dream school in a year's time.
At first, I did not like the university at all, no subject interested me until I had my first Artificial Intelligence (AI) class. It was fascinating to me, I saw something very special about it and I wanted to know more. It reminded me of the Jetson's cartoons I used to watch as a kid, or movies with robots. I decided to follow my instinct, go to my professor's office and ask if I could be on his research team. And that's how it all started. Later on, I went on to get my master's and then my PhD in AI, and I also got the opportunity to work on my research abroad, specifically in Argentina.
It is a fact that 9 out of 10 IT workers are men. Have you ever felt any disadvantage arising from the fact that you studied and later worked in a male environment? Was it difficult to assert yourself in a male competition, or did you have a rather positive experience?
I think the experience of women in IT is no different to what a woman experiences in any other type of business. It's not easy, but not because we are not able to do the same things that men do, but I think the fairer sex is more influenced by cultural patterns or prejudices. As a woman brought up in a standard Eastern European family, I was taught that women shouldn't express their opinions, should always be polite and keep their heads down... And these are the ingredients of a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately for my parents, I behaved the complete opposite most of the time, which on the other hand was key to my successful career and business.
I had to face several challenges and it was not easy. Starting with my years at university, where I was the only girl in my class, and later continuing with my work. Mostly though, I took these challenges with a pinch of humour and stubbornness to change the status quo. I realized that many of my negative experiences stemmed from unconscious biases or individual frustrations, so I was able to overcome them more easily. However, there have been more unpleasant situations throughout my career that I have had to deal with and, unfortunately, they still occur. However, this should not be a reason to give up but, on the contrary, it should encourage us to move forward.
I have longed to do something that would have an impact on people
During your career, you have founded two startups, among others. Can you tell us more about them?
My experience in academia allowed me to learn about different AI methodologies, but without real-life application. I really wanted to do something that would have a direct impact on people. That's why I decided to leave academia and build a product, more specifically a virtual AI assistant, that helps people with their daily tasks. Firstly, I created the concept of a home assistant that controlled devices in the house.
Then, during one of my trips, I noticed that I was struggling with a lot of details and stressful or even uncomfortable situations as a traveller, so I decided to improve my original concept. I created the perfect virtual travel assistant. At the time, the Dubai Tourism Department launched a call for innovative solutions in the hospitality industry, and I decided to participate. I was chosen from hundreds of applicants to present my product - my virtual assistant. I ended up being one of the winners of this competition, followed by other awards and my inclusion in the list of the top 100 female entrepreneurs.
So you succeeded in Dubai with your virtual assistant for tourism. What exactly was that about? How can we imagine its functioning?
It's a personalised assistant for the hospitality industry, basically an app that collects information about guests and enhances their travel experience. In the app, you create a travel profile, provide information like where you are travelling to, what your preferences are in different areas - dining, local attractions, transport, type of accommodation and so on.
For example, as part of my job, I travelled a lot and always needed a room that was close to the lift so I could get to meetings quickly, then a room with a good internet connection and with natural light because I have vision problems. I am also a vegetarian, and I drink certain types of coffee and tea. I can provide all this information to the app, and there are many other optional details - for example, you can provide a passport photo or a business card, and the app will collect these documents, which are needed later when you check in at the hotel.
So in the app, the guest creates a profile and fills in what they want. What happens with this data next?
The information is then supplemented by the hotel, which provides further details - what time the guest arrived, whether the person was introverted or extroverted, if the guest had special requirements - for example, Muslims do not like alcohol in the room and require a space to pray - the app records all of this. Women, on the other hand, may have a request regarding only female staff entering the room. So all this diverse information is collected primarily from the traveller themselves, but also from the hotel staff.
The app also offers options such as room service, booking certain services or ordering a hotel menu, which again allows you to get certain information about guests. It is therefore about providing data from multiple sources. All this information gives us insight into the behavioural characteristics, the personality type of the guest, their preferences and requirements, and so it is quite easy to predict what a person might need or might want. This data is then passed on to other hotels as recommendations, and they can automatically make personalised suggestions for accommodation, transport or food.
Is this app being used today?
I created this startup in 2016 and then sold it in 2018. I have information that it is not currently in use. I know that the intention was to put the app into use, but since I am no longer the owner, I cannot divulge more information.
I do not think about problems, I focus on solutions
You have a successful project behind you, but it is known that the startup environment can be very harsh, there are many promising projects on the market and behind them are goal-oriented people. Have you experienced any failure or rejection and how did you deal with it?
Yes, as with any startup journey, I faced a lot of obstacles and failures and many times I felt like giving up. I've been put in situations that I never thought would ever come up and that I would be able to handle. For example, I never would have thought that I would be on the verge of bankruptcy, unable to deliver my product.
But no matter how many downfalls there were, like a true Maverick, I got up and decided to fight and keep going. My mantra is that there are no problems, only solutions. So as long as you don't think about how many problems you have, but what possible solutions you could find, things will eventually fall into place. My first startup - a home assistant - wasn't successful and, of course, I didn't take it lightly. But I learned a lot from the experience, and I applied those lessons in my second startup, which I eventually managed to sell to a big company.
Are you currently developing anything new??
I've currently started working on my third startup focused on astronautics. It's about an assistant that will be used for space missions. It will help astronauts, technicians and future space travellers better adapt to conditions beyond Earth. It will be an assistant for a better human experience in space.
So kind of like an assistant in hotels, but this time in space?
Also yes, but in the hotel it was more about "pampering" guests and here it's more about mental health and the physical challenges one has to deal with when travelling in space. However, this is a project in development, so I don't want to divulge too many details.
Aside from startups, what do your other activities or projects look like?
I have my own consulting company and a great team of people working on the latest solutions and concepts in the field of AI and Smart City.
In addition, I have always fought for women's empowerment while actively trying to help them follow their dreams and not give up despite prejudice and fear. I am currently working on starting an organization to support children and women around the world. I want them to not only gain access to better education and the latest innovations, but to have their voices heard, to be able to fight against bias, patriarchal concepts, and to eradicate inequality and injustice in society.
I remember back in college protesting the lack of girls' bathrooms in my faculty building. This was unfortunately coupled with constant harassment from my male classmates and even some professors. As a sign of protest, I decided to write notes on coloured paper (sometimes pink) and dress more like a girl, which was not very common at a technical university at that time and sometimes got me into trouble, but I didn't care. I felt I wasn't doing anything wrong. So my activities related to women are also influenced by my past experiences. Today, I am active in various organizations for women in tech and AI, I have been a mentor for many women-led startups, and I have led discussions with female technology students both at home and abroad.
I have also participated in the conceptualization of several challenges. One of them, for example, was Saudi Arabia's effort to find a solution to better manage crowds during pilgrimages to Mecca during the COVID-19 pandemic. My team and I presented a project to the Saudi government on how to use AI to ensure the safe movement of people, to maintain distances, to limit the number of people in rooms, or to set the proper ventilation of a space.
This year, I participated in a challenge focused on improving energy efficiency with the help of AI organized by Stanford University. We are also currently working on a project that uses satellite data to combat climate change.
Artificial intelligence is not just robots and sci-fi
The areas you mentioned - climate change and energy - are currently global topics of interest. Can you explain in more detail how artificial intelligence can improve energy efficiency, or how satellite data can help in the fight against climate change?
AI is perfect in that it can be used in pretty much any field that generates data, because AI can extract value from it and help understand the connections. By analysing data from the past, we can discover certain patterns and identify factors that cause, trigger or influence the occurrence of certain phenomena. For example, we can track how energy consumption has increased or decreased at certain times of the year, or in which part of the building, and so on. On the basis of this data, we can then offer recommendations for future energy use or ensure that the construction of buildings is optimised.
With regard to climate change, we can also identify certain patterns, for example, when natural disasters have occurred and how they have affected people, thanks to data from the past. In this way, we can better prepare for future disasters or make certain forecasts. In essence, understanding past information helps us to prepare for the future. So it means learning from the past in order to create a better future.
You mention the use of artificial intelligence. Take our readers through its benefits and how it can be used. In your opinion, is artificial intelligence the future of information technology? Do you think it can be just a "good servant" or can it also be dangerous? Many people are worried about AI being misused, getting out of control or being used in some illegal or unfair way. Do you think it is possible to guarantee the safety of using AI?
The way information is presented sometimes contains many traps and the unwary recipient may be confused or misled. If we look beyond Hollywood's portrayal of AI and the whole media fata morgana, we can realize the wide range of possible uses of AI in different industries and basically shatter the belief that AI is just robots and sci-fi scenarios. Reality proves that AI can indeed be easily accessed and applied in everyday life, and I think it will be ubiquitous in the near future.
Artificial intelligence is not a futuristic vision, but rather something that is already here today, and it's being integrated and deployed in different sectors. This includes areas such as finance, national security, healthcare, criminal justice, transport, smart cities. Artificial intelligence is already shaping the future of humanity in almost every sector today. It is also already a major driver of new technologies such as big data, robotics and the internet of things.
However, we should certainly be responsible when applying AI. Focusing on and respecting concepts such as the ethics of AI or human-in-the-middle artificial intelligence should ensure the safe use of AI. Through my work, I am trying to shatter the belief that AI is something abstract and demonstrate that it can indeed be easily accessed and used safely.
Who is Anca D. Goron
She holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence. Her works have been published in two prestigious journals and awarded by the Romanian Ministry of Education. During her more than 18 years of work in fields such as IoT, Deep Tech, Smart City, Data Security and, more recently, Space & Astronautics, she has founded two startups and put her brand into several innovative products and initiatives, which led to her being included in Forbes Magazine's Top 100 Female Founders list in 2018. She also works as a mentor and Data Scientist expert with organizations such as Women in Tech, Women in AI USA, 360.org. She is also the founder of A.I. Consultancy & Research, a company focused on conceptualizing and implementing AI solutions and strategies. Anca has also spoken at ITAPA 2022, a Slovak conference focused on innovation and digitalization.
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