Summer computer camp at SFU aims to narrow gender gap in A.I. sector
Angelica Lim is getting some surprising responses to the introduction to computer science course she teaches at Simon Fraser University.
Lim, a professor in computer science, says the young women in the course are giving her feedback along the lines of: “Why didn’t I hear about this before? It turns out I love computer science.”
The problem, Lim believes, is that computer science was never marketed as an option to them as girls. Instead, they were more likely to have been directed into other areas of science, such as biology.
Lim herself is an example of bucking the trend in an industry where 75 per cent of the workers are male — even though the Canadian workforce is closer to equal.
She said what helped her follow a career in computer science was building a network of support when she was working on her undergraduate degree at SFU.
“Once I got to university, we started a Women in Computing Science Club,” she said by phone. “Having that network helped me think that I could be there and that I wasn’t weird.”
Fifteen years later, WiCS is going strong at SFU. Lim went on to get two more degrees, including a doctorate in computer science at Kyoto University, where she combined computer science, neuroscience and cultural development psychology to build a robot that could “feel.”
As part of SFU’s school of computing science, she is involved with efforts to address the gender gap in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). She will be teaching young girls about her own research into “empathetic” robots at Invent the Future.
“Invent the Future is a summer enrichment program to introduce artificial intelligence,” Lim said. “It will involve lectures, field trips, guest speakers and projects to get them to understand the field and about choosing it as a career.”
She said it is important to get women involved with AI so that they are part of setting more inclusive parameters for machine learning.
“We’re inviting students from across Canada, but especially from rural communities,” Lim said. “We’re looking mainly for curiosity and excitement about computer science and artificial intelligence and technology.”
Invent the Future runs from July 8 to 20. The program will choose 24 Grade 11 girls about to enter their final year of high school in 2018. Participants will be introduced to various AI fields such as building a robot brain, computer vision, and natural language programs.
The total cost is $4,000 per person, which is being subsidized to the tune of $3,500 from sponsors that includes AI4All, a U.S.-based non-profit.
The $500 each participant will have to pay covers a private room in residence, as well as food, the curriculum, field trips and 24hour staff supervision. Travel to and from SFU’s Burnaby campus is the responsibility of the participant and her family.
Anyone in financial need can apply for full or partial bursaries for the remaining $500. As well, support for travel from rural communities is also available.
AI4ALL works to increase diversity in AI. SFU is one of five universities participating in the organization’s official rollout in 2018 and the only one in Canada. Other universities taking part are Stanford University, Princeton University, Berkeley University of California and Carnegie Mellon University.
Lim is head of the SFU Rosie Lab. The acronym stands for Robots with Social Intelligence and Empathy. The lab’s website says it is inspired by Rosie, the helper robot from the animated TV show The Jetsons, which was broadcast in the 1960s. Rosie helped the family in their daily activities and “kept up people’s spirits with her sassy personality,” the SFU Rosie Lab says.
Last year, Lim was singled out by Forbes for her work in artificial intelligence.