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AI is learning fast, but who gets to teach it?

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By Bridget Sheehan

For artificial intelligence researcher Dr Ruwangi Fernando, AI isn’t just about automation or innovation—it’s about impact, which can be either transformative or harmful, depending on what we prioritise from the beginning. 

While completing a PhD in artificial intelligence at Victoria University (VU), in 2017 Dr Fernando founded STEM Sisters, to address a confronting reality that only 15 per cent of women with STEM qualifications in Australia were working in STEM-related fields – and where for women of colour, the divide was compounded by layers of intersectional barriers. 

“We created what we wished we had—networks, visibility, and support tailored to our lived experiences.”

Fast forward to 2025, STEM Sisters has worked with more than 10,000 Women of Colour in STEM across Australia – with initiatives focused on fixing the ‘leaky pipeline’ that exists for diverse talent in STEM – from girls choosing subjects at school, to university, right through to representation in STEM leadership and on boards.

Alongside her leadership roles, Dr Fernando has returned to VU’s Melbourne campuses as Victoria University’s 2025 Executive in Residence – connecting with current students, staff and the local community in Melbourne’s west.

She believes that technology on its own is a good accessibility tool, however an equity focus is needed to build better technology and AI systems.

“If we want AI to build a fairer, more inclusive future, we need to consciously embed equity, ethics, and lived experience into its design—not as a patch, but as a foundation,” she explained.

“We need more people from different backgrounds being part of the tech community – so that we can create fairer, stronger technology for everyone.”

However, across the globe, many AI systems are trained on data that excludes or misrepresents marginalised communities – from recruitment, to policing, and services.

“If we don’t address that, we’re not just replicating existing bias—we’re scaling it.”

Through platforms like DEIR.AI by iSTEM Co., Ruwangi is suggesting a different way forward – designing AI to remove bias from recruitment, not reinforce it. 

“It’s not just the question: what can AI learn? – it’s who gets to teach it, and whose truths are we encoding into the future?”

In June, at the Amazon Girls’ Tech Day, hosted at Victoria University Werribee Campus, Dr Fernando delivered two keynote presentations to 500 primary and secondary school-aged girls from Melbourne’s west and encouraged them to see themselves as part of a stronger, more inclusive future for technology.

“Be curious. Don’t just use technology – ask how it is made and be part of it. Join your coding club, develop code or learn about AI. Also, I want you to not be afraid to ask: is it fair? Have we left anyone out?” she said.

“You belong. Your voice and ideas matter. You may be young, but you can lead, you can create. The future of AI needs you. 

“Tech is very powerful, but remember, you are more powerful.”

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