Inspiring women in AI: Dr. Sandra K. Johnson

What AI-related projects are you currently working on?

At this time, most of my technology work involves consulting with others at a very high level. For example, the specifics of issues associated with cybersecurity, blockchain technology, and a little bit of AI.

In the past, I was part of the team that built the base machine for Deep Blue. This was an IBM chess machine that competed against the world chess champion at the time, Gary Kasparov. In the first match, the human won. The second match IBM won.

My background is in computer hardware. But over the years, I have transitioned from hardware design to software design. But someone who's an expert in both or understands both is a more valued person. I keep my tentacles, if you will, in both hardware and software.

What inspired you to pursue a career in AI and related fields?

When I was in high school, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. Then I received something from Southern University, which I think was called the Engineering Summer Institute for High School Students.

At the time, the only type of engineer I was aware of was one who drove a train. I was not interested in learning how to drive a train, but very much interested in getting away from home for the summer so that I did not have to wash dishes.

I applied and was accepted. We stayed on campus and we took engineering classes. We were introduced to electrical, civil, and mechanical engineering. I fell in love with electrical engineering and felt as though this is what I was born to do. And I still believe that to this day.

What recent or potential breakthroughs in AI are you most excited about?

One could argue whether or not it's a breakthrough, but DeepSeek has really rattled the gen AI environment.

There's always been a parallel between more complex versus how we make things simple but still get the job done. I remember decades ago, from a computer architecture or design perspective, there was a focus on less complex instructions. This is called "reduce instruction set."

I think in the long run, this focus on less complexity will drive the cost down for generative AI and make it more available for a broader global audience because at this time, it takes a significant amount of money to build a really large gen AI project.

What advice would you give to young women considering a career in AI?

I believe that having mentors, people who are in positions of power and influence, who can work with you as you traverse your career, is very helpful.

It's very important to maintain those relationships. Communicate and connect with them on a regular basis. We're all busy and it doesn't have to be every week, know, every month, but maybe every quarter or twice a year to have that relationship so that someone outside of your sphere of influence can provide you with guidance and to and sometimes unbeknownst to you work behind the scenes to help make things happen for you.

It's not just your career, but any aspect of your life, where this principle works.

Also, know what you were born to do. Know your purpose. Know your destiny.

You are the captain of your ship. You steer it in the direction that you feel it needs to go.

Yes, find others along the way who will help you guide it and steer it, but stay focused on your ultimate destination because there will be others who will try to get you to veer off course. You will run into obstacles. And in those situations, you may have to go around them, through them, over them, under them.

In some instances, you may have to go backwards. But stay focused on your purpose and your destiny. And eventually, that ship will steer back in the direction that you wanted to go to keep going forward.

So stay focused. You are the captain of your ship. You drive the ship.

What advice would you give to other women for getting started with using AI in their research, work, or life?

Others may not realize that we're already using AI in our everyday lives.

For example, most search engines leverage AI. It's not as scary as you think because we already use it.

In terms of tools, get access to a free tool like Chat-GPT and just start playing with it, asking questions as a way to enlighten, educate, and learn about what this is really all about.

You can just focus initially on the free versions of the tools.

I would also encourage you to always stay current. Things are moving very quickly, but there are ways you can remain current.

And that's talking to others who are experts, right? Even if you're not talking to others, read, listen to podcasts, etc., but stay educated. If you're of the research, then you know what the process is, right?

Have a passion for it, connect with others, and also try to look ahead. In the decades that I've been focused on technology, it's not enough just to know what the process is. You think about how can we best leverage it.

How can this invention, if you will, be leveraged for the good of the global society?

Also, always keep in mind the potential dangers and think about what guardrails should be in place so that they are safe, secure, and socially responsible.