Women and Artificial Intelligence: Towards an Inclusive Peacebuilding Process

Abstract

The underrepresentation of women in the STEM fields and the development of Artificial Intelligence pose a risk for the exclusion of women in the peacebuilding process. A core component of decision-making in artificial intelligence is machine learning, which is predicated on the data given to the training model. Hence, by being excluded from the development part of the model due to a smaller portion of women developing AI models and from the crucial data which would be fed to the model, women experience a double whammy. Since it is not feasible to coerce women into STEM fields, authors suggest an alternative way to empower women in the decision-making of AI development in the peacebuilding process. First, existing female data scientists and AI developers must be brought on board to develop models for peacebuilding. Second, local women must be hired and trained to get as much data as possible from distressed women in war-torn areas, which can then be fed into machine learning models. Lastly, in the testing phase of AI, possible corrections must be made via a consultative process involving women.