Generation AI: 18 Year Old Innovator Neha Shukla on Ethical AI
The future of AI looks bright.
The future of ethical AI is particularly bright when viewed through the eyes of Neha Shukla, the 18-year-old AI innovator earning the praise of industry leaders decades her senior.
Tell us more about her, urged Être girls.
Where to start?
At 15 she founded Six Feet Apart, a company simplifying COVID-19 social distancing with a hat that alerts users when others come within a six-foot distance, earning her a National Gold Presidential Volunteer Service Award and a Diana Award, the Royal Family’s prize for young global change makers.
At 16 she developed the PA Homeless Guide app to combat homelessness through policy change, and invented MobileMe, a device and app that proactively prevents mobility loss in the elderly.
At 17 she spoke in a fireside chat with Karlie Kloss and Apple CEO Tim Cook to demo her app while encouraging more girls to pursue tech, completed an internship at NASA, and authored her best-selling debut book on innovation.
And at 18 she has been named Chair of the World Economic Forum's Generation AI Youth Council and is partnering with Microsoft to bring her book to under-resourced youth across the world.
Oh, and she graduated high school a week ago.
What’s she doing now?
We had to find out. Below is an edited version of our interview with Neha:
Ê: Thank you so much for speaking with us! We’ve heard you call our generation Generation AI – why is that true? And at what age does Generation AI start?
NS: I really see today's generation of youth as Generation AI and I think the reason behind this is we're growing up in this world surrounded by technology; technology that's powered by AI in ways that we might not even realize.
Young people, as young as infants, are interacting with AI based platforms and it's so deeply embedded in our lives – whether children are watching educational videos or entertainment videos - powered by an AI algorithm that's nudging them in one direction or the other. For older children, if they are going on social media platforms then they're being suggested by these algorithms who to be friends with or who to spend time with.
“I think what’s interesting to see is how this has the potential to be something that can create so much good, while we’re also seeing cases of AI algorithms causing extremely detrimental things like the nationwide mental health crisis. We’re seeing people experiencing staggering rates of depression, anxiety, eating disorders - especially in girls - and a lot of this is fueled by unrealistic content promoted by algorithms.”
I think all of this is really interesting…and I'm really excited about empowering our generation to not only think critically when it comes to AI but also not be afraid of technology; to know that we have the power to reshape technology into building it for social good…at an early age.
Ê: Yes! Tell us about your role with the World Economic Forum – what’s that about?
NS: I'm actually the Chair and US Representative of the World Economic Forum's Generation AI Youth Council, and it’s an intersectional group of young people, policymakers, representatives from corporations, and people from the World Economic Forum collaborating together to make sure that we're pushing for ethical and child safe AI infrastructure. Our group as a team released the AI for Children Toolkit, and it shares the first framework for inclusive, responsible, safe and transparent design principles in AI. Essentially what we're doing is encouraging companies to embrace it, and it's been adopted by companies like PwC already.
Ê: You talked about using AI for social good – can you say more about that?
NS: Like with any technology, there are going to be flaws and biases and it will have challenges with discrimination. Especially we're looking at large language models, they're often built on super biased, incorrect, and polarizing data. But that’s also a sign for us to start looking at AI critically and saying, Okay, it's not something that's perfect. It doesn't know all the answers…but it is something that we can shape for good and using that to tackle the world's greatest challenges, things like the climate crisis, education inequalities, and racism. There are so many ways that AI can become this really powerful tool for good.
Ê: What is one ethical issue in AI that you think is being overlooked?
NS: That is such a good question! I think besides a lot of the obvious privacy concerns, especially for young children, one thing I spoke in a World Economic Forum webinar is nudging and the role of advertisers and other social media companies using AI algorithms behind the scenes to push decision-making in children.
Another thing that I really would love to call more attention to is facial recognition and discrimination in AI algorithm technologies. Facial recognition algorithms are typically trained on white men (or younger white men), so oftentimes women, young girls, people of color, or women of color, especially…are left out of that subset. So [when we see] police pull people over, or people of color, black women, women of color, all these are these groups being falsely arrested, denied jobs or [higher] pay simply because these algorithms weren't built for them, that is something that's so worrying.
“A big thing for me is advocating for more women in tech female developers building technology from their perspective. Yeah, and making sure that their voices are heard.”
Ê: When did these issues first get your attention? And for the generation of girls who are just entering the AI conversation, what do you want them to know?
NS: I got into technology when I was 15, and I saw the COVID-19 pandemic devastating my local community. I didn't know the first thing about technology, but I knew I wanted to do something to help. So, within the first couple of weeks of the pandemic, I taught myself how to code and I developed the first prototype of Six Feet Apart, which is a wearable social distancing device uses ultrasonic tech and essentially, to slow the spread of the COVID 19 pandemic and save lives.
That was really my first adventure with building tech, and then my story was picked up by the New York Times and I was scaling the idea with pilots in my local community. That's when I realized that my voice does matter, and with technology, inventing and innovation, my perspective is important.
“What I loved was I found that spark…that you can use technology to create social change, to help people to solve problems to make a difference. And that was something where I just absolutely fell in love with that concept.”
My advice to all the girls listening and reading the newsletter is:
“Know that your voice is powerful and that your perspectives matter. When you share what you’re passionate about, when you start building things, when you start thinking critically about tough issues and are not afraid to speak up and challenge assumptions and the way things have always been…then you know that you’re truly unstoppable. And that’s really what we need. The world needs you.”
Unstoppable. The perfect word to end on as it describes Neha and the passion she brings to the AI discussion.
Who will be next on the AI stage? Which girl will be next to take the mic, clear her throat and present her game-changing idea to the world? Odds are it will be someone looking at Neha Shukla as a role model and, if she’s lucky, a mentor.
Because, as Neha reminds us, the world needs her.
Looking forward,
Illana
ÊXTRAS: Three back to class AI book recommendations (the first from Neha Shukla) you won’t want to miss: The Positronic Man by Isaac Asimov (“it really is interesting to see how somebody in the 1950’s wrote the story and it’s so thought provoking and elegantly written”); You Look Like A Thing and I Love you by Janelle Shane; and Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez.
