Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do? After being raised in Saginaw, MI, I graduated from the prestigious Tuskegee University with a BS in Computer Science. I came to the DC area right after college after landing a Government contracting gig. I did a lot of soul-searching those first few years of my career after I realized Government work wasn’t for me. I eventually broke into the startup world which is much more my cup of tea (I like my tattoos and jeans). After some time, a
I sat down with Dara Elass only expecting to discuss life as a Data Engineer at Spotify. As I went on to uncover the amazing person that she is and more about her life journey, I knew that this discussion would go more in-depth than work and her life in tech. We thank you, Dara, for being so brave and welcoming to POCIT and for understanding how important it is to share your story with the communities and individuals you may reach. Tell us about your journey into tech. I
The noise about disruptive tech is deafening; Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) creating crypto-millionaires at a pace causing even governments to worry, brain + machine interfaces and your face replacing your fingerprints/passwords. These, and other propositions that indeed make it seem like we live in a world that is moving faster than most of us can adapt to. But which of these technologies will go beyond the hype and change our lives at scale? Which of these will be a General Purpose Technology (GPT). What is a General Purpose Technology (GPT)?
I am a 22-year-old woman in tech currently working as a Junior Data Engineer. Two months ago, I worked in a customer service role, and I was very fortunate to be offered this role as a secondment. I am now almost halfway through my secondment, working with a great team of people. I am learning about programming in Python and SQL and solving problems within Big Data. My life was completely different three months ago, and I am here to share my story with you. My background Just three months
When tackling culture bias in Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is important to understand how much we use AI in our everyday lives. There are quite a few applications, and while they all have different names, a few of them are becoming more familiar to the general public. There are fields such as machine learning, face recognition, computer vision, virtual and augmented reality. You can also find artificial intelligence in traffic lights, GPS navigation, MRIs, air traffic controller software, speech recognition, and robotics. The point is, unlike the 90s, when AI
Quick note before you dive in: This post (largely based on recent McKinsey Global Institute and Executive Office of the President reports) includes some doom and gloom about the negative impacts artificial intelligence may have on your life and career. The last thing I want is for you to leave feeling freaked out, so try reading to the end, where I discuss the potential AI has to change your work for the better. If you can’t make it that far, save it for later or share it with a friend
I recently took the opportunity to head down to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California to see the arrival of Juno from behind the scenes. I was there as a social media ambassador with a group of other thought leaders to share in NASA’s next big moment of space exploration. While I was there, I met people I would not otherwise meet; the scientists who had an active part in designing the instruments on Juno, the project managers who drove the mission forward and even the Assistant Director for
picture courtesy of #WOCinTechChat Written by Camille Eddy In my role as a machine learning intern, I go to work every day and start my job. I turn on my computer and start looking at my next tasks. But what was quickly unavoidable is the realization that the field of Machine Learning is not very diverse. In this article, I hope to outline why as a black woman, helping to make the next intelligent robot is a massive deal. And why we need to bring more underrepresented groups into
picture courtesy of #WOCinTechChat written by Mark Downie Software development in many ways has lagged behind other engineering and scientific disciplines in academic rigor and professional regulations. When you take a closer look at most other engineering disciplines, they rest on a foundation of accretive professional standards, and on laws and regulations that expressly guard the public good. The sheer speed with which software patterns change and then subsequently permeate the lives of everyday people has probably contributed to our industries laissez-faire attitude. I would suggest that recent security breaches
How did you get involved in technology? When I was thirteen years old I was extremely obsessed with documentary films. I ended up watching a documentary about the history of computers. Everything from the first computers in the 40s/50s, to Microsoft and then the internet as it is today. I was like ‘this is so cool I’d like to learn about all this stuff’. So, I just self-taught myself programming from high school, and my interests were in artificial intelligence and machine learning. So, I come in from a sort
