Let’s Talk About Canadian Women in AI & Robotics

Until the 1960s, robots were only able to perform the tasks they were specifically programmed to do. Over the past few decades, the field of artificial intelligence (AI) has witnessed remarkable growth, transforming the way we interact with technology and shaping various aspects of our lives. From early expert systems and rule-based algorithms to the rise of machine learning and deep learning, AI has made tremendous progress.

Today's advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) now allow robots to assess their environments, adapt, learn and carry out complex functions like teaching other robots to perform tasks. AI-driven applications now power virtual assistants, autonomous vehicles, personalized recommendations, advanced medical diagnostics, and much more.

The potential of AI to revolutionize industries and address complex challenges seems boundless, promising a future where intelligent systems work seamlessly with humans, opening up new frontiers of innovation and possibilities. However, this progress also raises important questions about ethical considerations, privacy, and the responsible development of AI technologies to ensure a beneficial and inclusive impact on society.

As AI continues to evolve, here are some women in Canada contributing to the field that you should know about:

Dr. AJung Moon

Dr. AJung Moon is on a mission to make ethics a core part of AI and robotics technologies by investigating how robots and AI systems influence the way people behave and make decisions.

An experimental roboticist, her research delves into the impact of robots and AI systems on human mobility, behavior, and decision-making, with the aim of providing insights into how we can design and deploy such autonomous intelligent systems more responsibly.

At Open Roboethics Institute (which she founded and served as director of until 2019), researchers study the social and ethical implications of robotics technologies, including autonomous cars, care robots and robots used in warfare. It positioned her to advise a number of national and international organizations such as the Government of Canada Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence and the United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Today, Dr. Moon is the Director of the McGill Responsible Autonomy & Intelligent System Ethics (RAISE) lab at McGill University.

Dr. Elizabeth Croft

Dr. Elizabeth Croft, Vice-President Academic and Provost at the University of Victoria, has been a longtime role model for women in Robotics.

Prior to joining UVic, she was Dean of Engineering at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia and was also a tenured professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of British Columbia.

During her time at UBC, she founded and led the Collaborative Advanced Robotics and Intelligent Systems (CARIS) Laboratory, an internationally respected research group that specializes in Human Centred Robotics Technologies. As director of the CARIS Laboratory, she investigated how robotic systems can behave, are perceived to behave and how people interact with and understand robotic systems. Applications of this work range from manufacturing assembly to healthcare and assistive technology.

She also served as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for five years. There, she founded Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology (WWEST) to attract, recruit, and retain women in engineering and science.

Dr. Joy Buolamwini

Described as a "poet of code," Alberta-born Joy Buolamwini is fighting bias in algorithms that AI inherit as a result of non-inclusive user testing.

A computer scientist, coder, and AI ethics researcher, she gained widespread recognition for her groundbreaking research on "Algorithmic Bias" and "Gender Shades." In her TEDx talk on the "coded gaze," she breaks down why creating a world where technology works for everyone is so important: "We've used tools of computational creation to unlock immense wealth. We now have the opportunity to unlock even greater equality if we make social change a priority and not an afterthought."

In her research, she has demonstrated how facial recognition technologies from prominent companies exhibited biases, especially in accurately recognizing darker-skinned faces and female faces. This revealed significant shortcomings in the algorithms' performance and highlighted the need for more ethical and inclusive development of AI systems.

In 2018, Dr. Buolamwini co-founded the Algorithmic Justice League, an organization focused on promoting ethical practices and fairness in artificial intelligence development. She has been a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in technology and has spoken at various conferences and events to raise awareness about algorithmic bias and its potential consequences.

Her research influenced IBM and Microsoft to update their technologies accordingly, and she was named "the conscience of the AI revolution" by Fortune magazine.

Dr. Angelica Lim

Named one of "five people building the AI future" by Forbes, Dr. Angelica Lim is computer scientist, researcher, and roboticist known for her work in the field of artificial intelligence and social robotics.

An assistant professor in Computing Science at Simon Fraser University, her focus is on developing interactive and socially intelligent robots with a focus on enhancing human-robot interactions. Much of her work explores emotional and cognitive development in robots and how it affects their interactions with humans. She also leads the SFU Rosie Lab, building AI software for robots to interact with social intelligence and empathy.

She gained recognition for her role as a senior interaction designer at SoftBank Robotics, where she contributed to the development of Pepper, a popular humanoid robot designed to interact with humans in various environments.

An advocate for increasing diversity and inclusivity in the field of AI & robotics, Dr. Lim is the director of the Invent the Future (AI4ALL) program for Canada. She also developed the SFU Computer Science Teaching Toolkit, with the goal of inspiring people of all backgrounds to pursue Computing Science.

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