The Power of AI Done Well: A Beacon of Light for Humanity
Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant future. It’s here, reshaping how we live, learn, work, and lead. But at She Shapes AI, we know that the question isn’t whether AI will transform the world. The real question is how and for whom.
We asked our Top 33 nominees, women from around the globe developing and using responsible AI for their take on AI’s greatest promise, the values that guide their work, emerging trends, and the insights they’ve gained along their journey. Their answers were nothing short of remarkable: thoughtful, urgent, bold, and grounded in a vision of AI that serves people and planet alike.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing the key themes that emerged from these reflections in a new campaign: The Power of AI Done Well. This is the first.
The Promise of AI: Amplifying Human Potential, Advancing Global Good
Our Top 33 community highlighted AI’s immense capacity to address inequities in education, healthcare, social services, gender, poverty, and job opportunities in particular, and more broadly to advance all 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. By empowering historically marginalised or underserved populations, AI could level the playing field and as Clara Kaluderovic emphasized, “amplify human potential and democratise access to essential resources”.
Combating climate change was also a common theme, with respondents envisioning more accurate weather and climate models, smart and efficient energy, and transportation systems. Scientific advances in physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and material science could transform our understanding of the world and empower us to find previously unimaginable solutions to our most pressing global challenges. Rapid advances in medicine - in particular personalised, predictive and preventive precision medicine - could revolutionise healthcare.
Recognising AI as a rare opportunity to disrupt broken power systems, our nominees envision the amplification of underserved voices, helping them to step into positions of power and influence - where they can contribute to solutions that would serve all of humanity.
What’s at Stake: The Urgency of Getting It Right
For all its potential, our Top 33 are clear-eyed about the risks. Without thoughtful design, inclusive governance, and transparent deployment, AI could just as easily deepen existing inequalities.
“If properly built and deployed,” Diana Gutierrez, our AI & Nature Award Winner, wrote, “AI could serve as a beacon of light for humanity.” But that outcome is not guaranteed. It depends on the choices we make now, about who gets to lead, what gets prioritized, and how we ensure AI reflects the diversity of the world it aims to serve.
What's Next
This is just the beginning. We will continue sharing the hopes, ideas, and lived experiences of our Top 33 women shaping responsible AI. Each theme will highlight what’s possible when AI is developed with care, courage, and community at its core.
Stay with us as we spotlight the power of AI done well.
