Women’s involvement in technology and artificial intelligence (AI) was recently recognised as the Alpvest Institute for FutureTech (AIFT) held its annual conference. The event took place on Wednesday, 17 September, at the African Palm Building on uMhlanga Ridge.
Guests were treated to a champagne breakfast and networking session before various speakers addressed key issues within the AI industry.
In his opening address, AIFT CEO Jay Ramnundlall stated that the briefing was “one from the future”—a future already being shaped by women who code, design, research, finance, regulate, teach, and deploy artificial intelligence in ways that change how we live, learn, and work.
“AI has moved from the margins to the mainstream. It writes, predicts, diagnoses, translates, tutors, and designs. If women are not at the table, the models we build will mirror only a fraction of human experience,” he said.
“Today’s conversation is not about adding diversity later; it is about designing intelligence with diversity from the start so that systems are fairer, safer, and more useful for everyone.”
The conference covered a wide range of topics, including everyday AI for women at home, work, and play; building responsible AI through ethics, bias mitigation, and guardrails; entrepreneurship and careers in AI; AI in healthcare from a South African Medical Association perspective; and AI in design thinking, sustainability, and skills.
The event underscored the critical importance of inclusive design and female leadership in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence.
