What do you observe in this photo, that circulated across many news networks (this one credited from AP) in February?
Most called out that Sam Altman and Dario Amodei having an ‘awkward moment’.
All I could think is that out of the 14 very influential people on that stage, only 1 is a woman and after doing some research, I still don’t know her name. However, I’d like to and I’d like to see better representation.
Simultaneously, I’ve noticed a thematic discourse amongst The Group Chat:
- AI is bad for the environment
- AI is run by men with too big of egos (see above pic as evidence)
- I’m so sick and tired of my company pushing AI for everything. Just let me think!
At the same time, what I am hearing across my professional circles and industry is that using AI is becoming a requirement of the job. Colleagues who are using the tooling are being lauded and promoted.
Having spent more than a decade as a “Women in Tech”, I began to feel like I’ve seen this cycle play out before. So I did a little research and here’s what I learned:
While The Group Chat’s concerns are valid…
- The AI boom released roughly as much CO₂ as New York City in 2025 (The Sustainable Agency / Alex de Vries, Patterns journal)
- Sam Altman’s rebuttal seems to be that AI water consumption concerns are “totally fake” and that humans take up energy too (Tech Crunch )
- Only 27% of leaders agree their organization has provided the right guidance to harness AI ethically (Russell Reynolds Associates)
…There is a quiet alarm of an AI gender gap. Not only are women underrepresented in the research labs, but also in the workplace:
- Only 12% of AI researchers globally are women, and just 16% hold AI tenure-track faculty roles (WomenTech Network)
- There’s an 18-point confidence gap: 74% of young men feel confident about AI skills vs. 56% of young women (WomenTech Network)
- Of the 6 million workers least equipped to absorb AI job loss, 86% are women, most in clerical and administrative roles (CBS News / Brookings Institution)
The question is, who gets to shape what happens next? And who gets to be in the room where that will happen?
Next month, I hope to host an “AI Show & Tell” with my close girlfriends so we can learn and tinker in a safe environment. As I return from my mat leave, I’m intentionally reframing my problem-solving. Moving past using AI as a supercharged Google search and more as a partner in making my work more efficient. The more competent I am, the more confident I feel. The more confident ground I stand on, the more change I can ultimately impact. That is my personal protest.