Local teen author shares love of coding through books
In “The Code Detectives,” two middle school girls who love coding use artificial intelligence to solve mysteries. For 17-year-old author Ria Doshi, writing the book series is a way to advocate for increasing diversity within the technology field.
“I’ve brought a diverse cast of characters to life, with the series centering around Ramona Diaz, a powerful young girl of color,” says Ria, a student at Cupertino’s Monta Vista High School. “The book series gives young girls strong, fictional role models in technology and AI, and introduces them to AI topics in a compelling way, clearing common misconceptions.”
Ria writes what shoe knows, and vice versa. She is the founder of Codebuddies, which uses workshops, panels, challenges and more to promote problem-solving through technology. She is also the founder of Monta Vista’s Women in AI club, where she teaches girls the impact of artificial intelligence in daily life.
Her work has earned her international recognition. She was part of the U.S. Championship team that developed an app for the Technovation Challenge, a competition for girls ages 10-18 to develop mobile apps that address real-world problems. The app, Alleviate, helps individuals with autism overcome challenges they face using speech recognition.
Recently, Ria was named a 24 under 24 Global Leader in STEM by the Mars Generation (TMG), a nonprofit founded in 2015 by then 18-year-old Abigail Harrison to excite kids and adults about space and STEM/STEAM education. Nominees must be members of TMG’S Student Space Ambassador Leadership Program, through which they agree to share their passion for same.
Ria’s excitement for artificial intelligence and computer science started in ninth grade, when she participated in the Stanford AI4ALL program researching cancerous genes using machine learning. Her stated goal is to learn as much as she can about artificial intelligence through real-world research projects, and she plans to study computer science and artificial intelligence in college.
Contact Anne Gelhaus at 408200-1051.