Using AI To Build A More Inclusive Workforce: An Interview with Lolita Taub

Using AI To Build A More Inclusive Workforce: An Interview with Lolita Taub
Using AI To Build A More Inclusive Workforce: An Interview with Lolita Taub

Lolita Taub is a force of nature – or perhaps more accurately, a force in technology.

Growing up, she was told “tech is not for girls,” and in recent years, “VC is not for women.” However, these comments only further drove Taub to demonstrate that women, in fact, belong everywhere.

Taub recently joined the Catalyte team as Chief of Staff. Catalyte uses artificial intelligence to identify individuals, regardless of background, who have the innate potential and cognitive ability to be great software developers – which is perfectly aligned with Taub’s vision of a world “where tech is pioneered by the diversity of our population.”

I spoke with Taub about her work in AI, commitment to diversity in technology and how AI is already impacting the way we work.

DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN TECHNOLOGY AT A YOUNG AGE?
Without knowing it, I did. At five, I was mystified by what an AI robot could do, thanks to The Jetsons’ Rosie the robot (who could do it all). In third grade, my teacher Mr. Magat bought me a computer and spent weekends teaching me how to use it. Between his lessons, playing Carmen Sandiego and surfing the web (on dial-up internet!), my love for technology blossomed.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR YOUNG WOMEN WHO ARE INTERESTED IN TECHNOLOGY?
Go for tech! For far too long, we have lived in a world that was made for white, straight, cisgender men. If we want to live in a world that takes care of our needs, wants, and likes, we need more diversity creating and leading in tech. If you’re college-bound, consider a STEM degree. If college is not an option, look at alternatives. Your path can involve Edx or Coursera MOOCs, Codeacademy or Lambda coding school, or resemble that of the hundreds of Catalyte employees who, based on a screening, were trained and earned a job at the company on-the-spot.

WHAT ABOUT AI EXCITES YOU MOST?
I believe that AI has the power to improve the way we live, learn, work and play. It can customize how we consume and how we experience life. AI can liberate us to do more of what we want. AI is our present and our future. That excites me.

What excites me even more, is AI is like a child, and we are the parent. We are still early on in Raising AI and have the opportunity to shape who has a hand in it and how it’s used. And I’m working on making my dream of living in a world where the future of tech is pioneered by the diversity of our population come true.

WHAT ABOUT CATALYTE SEALED THE DEAL FOR YOU TO JOIN THEIR TEAM?
There are so many reasons. I’ll mention three here: the business, the machine learning-human combination, and the alignment to my north star.

Catalyte is addressing a huge tech talent demand which means there’s a lot of money to be made. Catalyte is using AI for good and solving the digital divide at scale, not only for our communities but also for the large corporations who are struggling in the war for tech talent.

And last but not least, Catalyte is enabling my vision of the future — a future where tech is created by a population that reflects our world’s diverse population. I share the rest in this Tweetstorm and this Medium post.

THE IDEA OF USING AI TO BUILD A MORE DIVERSE WORKFORCE IS EXCITING! COULD YOU SHARE A BIT MORE ABOUT THIS TECHNOLOGY? 
We use hundreds of algorithms and millions of data points to identify top-potential tech talent via a two-hour screening. No recruiters or resumes are part of it. And, so far, Catalyte has identified raw talent in hundreds of people (48% do not have a college degree, 36% are minorities).

We’ve provided them with technical training and hired them as software engineers. And, in terms of quality, our engineers are proving to perform above average; they produce 3x more than traditionally sourced teams and have twice the code quality.

IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SHIFT AI WILL CAUSE IN HOW WE WORK?
The most significant shift AI will cause is psychological. With studies showing that 50-60% of human work activities will be automated by technology, we need to mentally prepare for and get comfortable with the idea of having or being an AI’s sidekick.

At some point, we will all have to work with or be managed by AI. We can already see examples of this. Think of your Lyft or Uber drivers. It’s not people managing drivers; it’s AI algorithms telling them where to go, how to get there and how much they’ll get paid.

Because a human-and-machine life is our future, we need to learn how to work well together. We, as a workforce, need to get to know technology better – how it works, how to work with it and how to differentiate our human-added-value.

HOW DOES HUMAN INTELLIGENCE FIT INTO AN AI-ENABLED WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE?
It depends on what you mean by “the future.” Once we reach the singularity, the point at which AI becomes smarter than humans, it’s uncertain how human intelligence will fit into an AI-centric workforce. For now, the only kind of AI that exists and we need to worry about is narrow AI. And narrow AI is the tech that can only outperform human efficiency in single activities.

In my Enterprise VC: 2019 AI Market Review, I start off by highlighting that by 2030, AI will create $13 trillion in value to the world. There’s a lot of money and value to be made for companies and individuals. But this value cannot be unlocked without progressive companies and proactive human beings. It’s urgent that we leverage our human intelligence in the areas of self-awareness, preservation, and motivation.

It’s clear to me that in order to participate in the multi-trillion-dollar AI market opportunity, and to thrive in the future, 1] companies need to upskill workers and 2] individuals need to put the time and effort to upskill themselves.

originally posted on Forbes.com by Annette White-Klososky