Magic happens when you see a person realize their potential.
I was fortunate to begin my mentoring journey some years ago when my kids were small and their elementary school had a program that needed volunteers to teach in the morning before the school day began.
My friend Amanda and I would use Scratch Programming to teach computer science to students as young as seven and as old as eleven—very young minds.
Scratch is a fantastic tool for young and not-so-young alike to learn programming skills and also build really cool things. I love Scratch because it allows for unlimited creativity while allowing for learning in a structured way.
My favorite moments teaching these young students were seeing their lightbulb moments when they figured out how to do something after trying so many times, but did not give up.
A mentor is not the same role as a boss or manager. Occasionally, that can happen, but it is not typical. A great boss keeps you focused on what matters and advocates for the team up the ladder, even when the downward pressure demands the inverse.
A mentor is someone who chooses you or you choose. A mentor represents you at a different point in life. Typically, a mentor shares a lot of common ground with you, such as your gender, profession, leadership style, etc. A mentor shows you truths you would not have access to without them.
I have mentored adults, high school students, and young kids, and the reward in seeing someone realize their own ability is beyond words.
Sometimes you just need someone a few steps ahead of you to believe in you more than you believe in yourself to get to that next place.
Having a mentor has been an absolute game-changer for my life.
Val, my first mentor, coached me through my first negotiations on salary, through leaving a great job for an even greater one that would cause me to grow, and so much more.
She gave me strength to see when I would have otherwise been in the dark.
As artificial intelligence ventures ever deeper into the realm of creativity—generating paintings, music, poetry, and even sculptures—it stirs a vital question: What does it mean to be creative, and who or what can claim that title?
The story of Ai-Da, the world's first humanoid robot artist, is a provocative entry point. Ai-Da can draw abstract self-portraits through pre-fed data and actively process new visual input through her camera "eyes." Her creations force us to confront the essence of artistry. Is it the hand that draws or the intention behind it that makes art meaningful?
Philosopher Alice Helliwell reminds us that art has always been in flux. From Duchamp's urinal to Tracey Emin's bed, artists have challenged traditional notions of what constitutes art. Why should AI-generated works be dismissed outright if these radical expressions were accepted?
Art has always been tethered to its age's cultural and technological realities. The rise of AI is no different—it reflects our hopes, fears, and evolving relationship with machines. Ai-Da's unsettling sculptures and portraits speak to aesthetic innovation and societal anxieties about automation and identity.
Marcus du Sautoy, mathematician and author of The Creativity Code, sees AI not as a replacement for human creativity but as a catalyst. He argues that AI can shake us out of habitual, rule-bound patterns and provoke new artistic directions. AI might help humans become more human in their creative pursuits.
Yet, questions of ownership and authorship loom large. Is Ai-Da the artist—or are her creators the real authors? This echoes larger debates about plagiarism, especially when AI models are trained on human-created datasets. Artists Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst co-founded Spawning AI, a suite of tools that empower human creators to control how their work is used in AI training.
Meanwhile, other artists, like Sougwen Chung, are embracing AI as a collaborative partner. By training algorithms exclusively on their own work, they explore new creative territories, redefining not only the output but also the creative process itself.
Cognitive scientist Margaret Boden offers a widely accepted framework: creativity involves producing new, valuable, and surprising ideas.
Image credit @coconnor
Under this lens, AI can be seen as creative, though the debate hinges on intent. Can a machine that lacks desires or self-awareness truly be an artist? Du Sautoy argues that intention belongs to the human, not the machine. Yet Helliwell suggests that the absence of human-like intent shouldn't automatically exclude AI-generated work from the realm of art.
This ambiguity reflects a larger truth: Art has never been solely about the object but the context, the questions it raises, and the experiences it evokes.
Eva Jäger of London's Serpentine Gallery believes that the future lies not in conflict but in collaboration. What matters is not merely the output but the practice behind it—the human systems, intentions, and explorations that drive the use of AI as a tool or co-creator.
Whether made by a robot or a human hand, art remains a mirror of our society, our values, and our evolving relationship with technology. AI may lack human emotion or intention, but its outputs force us to examine and expand our definition of creativity.
Creativity does not arise in a vacuum. Every artist—human, algorithmic, or hybrid—builds upon the cultural DNA of those who came before. Perhaps it's time to shed the illusion that creativity is a magical, uniquely human spark. Instead, let us embrace it as a continuum—a dialogue between the past and future, the natural and the artificial.
This is not the end of creativity but the beginning of a broader, richer understanding of it—one that invites us to stay curious, explore, and create in ever-more-expansive ways.
Currently and historically, wealthy white men control the development of AI and technology systems that will shape society's future. The concentration of power operates through multiple interconnected mechanisms that determine not only who participates in technology development but also how gender identity itself is constructed and constrained through AI systems.
Direct economic disadvantages for women in the job market are one repercussion of AI bias. In 61.5% of gender-biased AI systems studied, unfair allocation of resources, information, and opportunities for women was observed, including hiring software and ad systems that deprioritized women's applications.
Statistics to Consider
Women hold a mere 26% of AI jobs globally
Just 5% of leadership positions in tech are held by women
Men outnumber women 3:1 in tech firms overall, rising to 4:1 in technical roles
More than half of women leave tech by mid-career—over double the rate of men
In low-income countries, only 20% of women have internet access, creating a significant data gap that affects how AI systems are trained and deployed.
Analysis of global venture capital deployment shows that of the $289 billion invested globally in 2024:
2.3% to female-only founding teams
83.6% to all-male founding teams
14.1% to mixed-gender founding teams.
The Builder Bias: Inequity by Design
The builder bias emerges as decision-makers, consciously or unconsciously, build and maintain systems that reflect their biases and advantages, thereby perpetuating inequality rather than addressing it.
Biases reinforced by AI can create environments where women, in particular, face significant barriers to advancement. This perpetuates a cycle in which those in positions of power maintain their advantage while others struggle to overcome systemic barriers. Many individuals perpetuating ageism may not consciously realize they hold biased views. These biases are often ingrained through societal norms and media representations prioritizing youth and beauty.
Older men often benefit from positive stereotypes associated with experience and leadership, being seen as seasoned professionals whose wisdom and tenure are valuable assets.
Women, on the other hand, face double standards. Women are viewed as less committed due to presumed family responsibility as they age. As women learn their voice has power and authority through career and life experience, they are often deemed "difficult to manage."
Younger women are not taken seriously or placed in positions where the company optics will benefit from a pretty face to represent the brand, not so removed from the pretty young model on the hood of a muscle car, except this woman gets to wear a pantsuit and heels.
A manifesto for shifting AI research away from surveillance capitalism toward systems designed by—and accountable to—the people most affected by them, Data Feminism for AI lays down a framework for structural overhaul and a different way forward.
Data Feminism for AIargues that fixing bias isn't enough—AI itself must be rebuilt around justice. Drawing on intersectional-feminist theory, the authors show that corporate profit motives and long-standing power hierarchies shape today's AI.
I will leave you with actionable steps to empower yourself as a woman throughout your career and for those who want to support us; whether you are an individual man or part of an organization, your allyship holds the potential for transformation.
Actionable Steps for Change
For Women: Building Power and Presence
Develop AI literacy now - Treat understanding AI tools as essential career preparation, not optional
Seek strategic mentorship - Women with mentors are 77% more likely to stay in tech
Build support networks - Connect with other women in tech through professional organizations and online communities
Challenge biased systems - Question AI recommendations that seem stereotypical or unfair
Document discrimination - Keep records of sexist behavior, unequal treatment, or biased AI outputs
Apply for AI pilot programs - and training opportunities at your organization
Request transparent advancement criteria and timelines
Negotiate for equal compensation using salary transparency tools
For Men: Using Privilege Constructively
Amplify women's voices - Repeat and credit women's ideas in meetings
Call out problematic behavior - Challenge sexist "banter" and questioning of women's competence
Share information - Include women colleagues in informal networks and strategic conversations
Practice active mentorship - Sponsor women for promotions and high-visibility projects
Advocate for diverse hiring panels and inclusive job descriptions
Push for bias audits of AI systems your organization uses or develops
Support flexible work arrangements that help retain women
For Organizations: Systemic Solutions
Fix the "broken rung" - Focus retention efforts on mid-career women, not just entry-level hiring
Structured mentorship programs - Organizations with formal mentoring are 20% more likely to have diverse leadership
Bias-aware AI development - Require diverse teams from project conception, not just final review
Transparent advancement paths - Publish clear criteria for promotions and leadership roles
Conduct regular pay equity audits with public reporting
Implement "discrimination testing" for AI systems before deployment
💰 Investment Priorities:
Fund women-led AI startups and research projects
Support organizations working on algorithmic justice
Invest in bias detection and mitigation tools
Create partnerships with diverse educational institutions
Why This Matters
The window for meaningful change is narrowing. As AI becomes more entrenched in society, the power structures it embeds become harder to challenge.
Data from the Anita Borg Institute found that women with mentors in the tech industry were 77% more likely to still work in tech after three years compared to women without mentors.
By creating and leveraging allyship and structured support systems, it is entirely possible to build true diversity of thought into the technology, transforming the lives of every living being on the planet.
sources
Klein, Lauren, and Catherine D'Ignazio. Data Feminism for AI. Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA, and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA, 2024. ARXIV, Cornell University Library, 2023. Accessed 22 May 2025.
Artist Lisa Lebofsky Featured in Apple TV's Severance
The artwork featured is by artist Lisa Lebofsky, read on to learn more.
4 Questions for the artist.
We asked Lisa four questions about her artwork and the process of working with the TV series Severance.
1. Can you share a little about the inspiration behind the painting featured in Severance?
A coincidental backstory is I referred to this series of iceberg paintings as my "Severed Icebergs" but went with the less violent-sounding "Melting Icebergs" for the title of the series. The idea was I was severing these icebergs at the tip, isolating them in space, and melting the paint with water in each pass to speak to their fragile and slow demise. I saw these ice islands alone on this death march following their break from their home glacier. I witnessed this specific iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.
2. How did the opportunity to have your work appear on the show come about?
They found me! I can't speak to their process, but they contacted me after seeing my work online. I'm not sure what resonated about this specific iceberg, but the original is 48x72 inches and they originally inquired about the original piece. Since it was unavailable, they requested a jpg that could be printed at that scale. Imagine my delightful surprise seeing them choose to print it so small in the show. I think it's rather fitting and more powerful the way they presented it.
3. Were there any particular themes in Severance that resonated with your artistic practice or influenced this piece?
There is so much about Severance that resonates not just with my art but with life. Aside from a clear aesthetic affinity, the show was filmed in several locations where I've lived: New Paltz, the Catskills, Nyack, Newfoundland. The last episode of the second season was way too close to home, and I secured many appointments to come with my therapist. I have to give everyone involved credit because I've rarely seen that portrayed with such respectfully faithful and genuine emotion (I'm being intentionally vague because I don't want to drop any spoilers!). But conceptually, so much of my work is about the separation of the body and mind, the fragility of existence, and strained perspectives of space and our relationships to what is real vs abstract.
4. Finally, what's next on the horizon for you—any projects, exhibitions, or ideas that excite you?
On the horizon- I see what you did there! I have a few projects on the go. I'm working with a group of artists exploring the Watershed of NY as a source of inspiration and sustenance, considering how this pristine land has been historically ravaged and configured for human consumption. Dovetailing off of this project is a new body of work in progress both conceptually and physically: utilizing chroma to cut through an image, disrupting space and the rhythm of the landscape, perhaps as a metaphor for how people engage and interact with nature.
Learn more about Lisa's work and follow her on social media, or click here to check out her available workshops and read more about the artwork featured in Severance.
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