IIIT Delhi Hosts 60 Girls for Innovative Hackathon on Responsible AI Practices

IIIT Delhi hosted 60 girls from across India for the Builders of Better AI: Responsible AI Hackathon, in collaboration with Responsible AI UK and Technovation. Check details here

The Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT Delhi) hosted 60 girls from across India for the 2024 Builders of Better AI: Responsible AI Hackathon. In collaboration with Responsible AI UK (RAI UK) and Technovation, the event provided hands-on education in AI, real-world problem-solving, and the responsible use of AI in innovation. This marked the first event under Technovation’s The AI Forward Alliance (TAIFA), the only global alliance focused on the intersection of AI and gender, aiming to empower 25 million girls through AI, coding, and entrepreneurship education.

The event also initiated the collaboration between RAI UK and TAIFA to equip girls and young women with the skills to lead in the AI revolution, with India chosen as the inaugural location for its significance in advancing the alliance's objectives. “Sixty girls created 10 AI-powered solutions, tackling critical issues like girls' safety, gender equality, and sustainable agriculture,” said Tara Chklovski, CEO and Founder, of Technovation.

Tara Chklovski further states “Imagine the impact if we empowered even more girls with AI skills. As our 'Women in AI' report highlights, in India, where only 33% of women are in the workforce and just 24% are in tech, this is a game-changer. Women are often employed in service sector jobs, earning just half the salary of software engineers. If we invest in AI education for girls, we can unlock India’s economic potential and drive gender equality.”

At the event, participants heard from Prof. Pragya Kosta of IIIT, who emphasised the need to increase the percentage of women in the Indian technology workforce. Neeraj Sharma, Principal Software Engineering Manager at Microsoft and Technovation Chapter Ambassador, introduced the group to concepts like machine learning, neural networks, and Generative AI. Prof. Elvira Perez Vallejos from RAI UK presented the Responsible Research and Innovation Framework, using cards to guide the girls in considering how to develop caring technologies that account for unintended consequences.

Mentors from EY, Shopify and Google supported the girls through an activity to identify a problem in their community and to develop an AI-based solution. The girls had a chance to use the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) Prompts and Practice Cards [RAi RRI tool kit] developed by researchers at UKRI TAS program at The University of Nottingham, UK. The RRI cards provide a useful tool to anticipate ethical issues and reflect on best practices. At the end of the event, they presented their solutions to the whole group.

"Empowering young women in India to engage with technology and explore how AI can benefit their communities is crucial,” said Professor Elvira Perez Vallejos, Chair Equities Pillar- RAiUK.

Professor Gopal Ramchurn, CEO, RAi UK said, "Through this partnership with TAIFA, we aim to empower young women to not only participate in the AI conversation but to redefine it - challenging biases, building technology, and ensuring AI truly benefits every community it touches. RAi UK not only delivers world class research but also translates the latest research results into real-world outcomes that accelerate productivity and growth across the world."  

"By inspiring school girls to pursue engineering, we can cultivate a more inclusive and diverse tech ecosystem which is crucial for developing inclusive AI solutions for a more equitable and sustainable future." said Ranjan Bose, Director, IIITD

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