GENERATIVE AI

That’s a good question (laughs). I would say the sum of human knowledge and people’s ability to access it through education. I see such opportunities within technology to make knowledge more accessible to anyone. It also provides learning opportunities for people across the world. Learning more about the world and each other is what really motivates me.

Hmmm…I think technology is such a broad term and it can really mean a lot of things. New digital interfaces, services, and innovations help us make connections. For example, the ability to create specific content that is relevant to different people across the globe who might have similar interests, projects, needs, etc. Technology is the piece that connects all these things together.

Absolutely, especially the way we communicate with each other has drastically changed.           

I think there were a lot of beginnings of a more connected workplace and interface through screens and digital applications, but I think the pandemic has really pushed that through. This is now a thing that everybody uses. You can have a family gathering using Zoom or host a business meeting with Teams. We have gained a much broader understanding of how technology can assist us in our daily lives as a result of the pandemic. Which I think is an interesting development (laughs).

There is definitely a greater willingness, if not expectation, that we will be able to access the information we require for our personal or professional lives through some sort of digital interface. Whether that’s some docs in the cloud, an application like Zoom or Teams, or any sort of messaging channel.

In my professional life, I work with completely remote teams, so we are physically spread all over the place, but we have to meet in the same space to be able to use a digital environment the same way we would use a physical one. Even in my personal life, I am on the board of a non-profit daycare where my daughter goes to school, and we have looked at and started to work with new CRM tools. Even though we could physically get together, that’s still rare, so everybody needs the ability to access these virtual events on their own. So there is a lot evolving in this digital space.

I think that one thing that I really like about being a woman in the high-tech industry is that we get to have a goal. I believe that women especially are finding ways to interact with technology and that means that a woman’s perspective can now shape technology. While this goes for a lot of industries, technology in particular has been dominated by a male perspective and understanding of how the world works. 

So, even if we get into things like social media or networking, we’ve discovered that having a diverse set of perspectives is essential. Whether it’s new perspectives from women or people of color, this shift in perspective really adds more to the products that we are creating.

By adding additional perspectives, we are creating products that work for everyone, not just a single segment. That’s a wonderful space where women really seem to be thriving. It’s promoting a new point of view and I enjoy being part of this journey.

When I was growing up—probably all the way through college—I thought I was going to be a history professor for sure. I was going into academia and kept it very traditional, but once I got through my first master’s, I realized that this is not what I wanted to do. But there were still elements of academia that I could take into my current job. It was a weird transition, but I think it worked (laughs).

To be honest, it wasn’t such a difficult transition. Once you understand how things are very much the same and connected, but society is positioning them differently, it becomes kind of clear. This is the same type of work; I just have to approach it differently.