Salesforce on Monday afternoon held what it billed as its “first-ever” AI Equality Summit at San Francisco’s Yerba Beuna Center for the Arts. The company invited me to attend and cover the event, with the offer of going backstage prior to kickoff to interview senior vice president and chief equality officer Alexandra Siegel. Siegel appeared onstage to introduce the Summit, which began with a panel discussion that examined, amongst other things, AI and awareness and the imperative to normalize the technology as it burrows deeper into our everyday lives.
Siegel, who lovingly goes by “Ally” and is back at Salesforce after leaving previously, emphasized she believes the Summit represents a “powerful opportunity” for the organization to “enroll underrepresented and marginalized communities” in espousing the potential of artificial intelligence to act as an empowering technology for underserved people.
In a sentiment that channeled what Dr. Victor Pineda said to me in May, Siegel marveled at how “so many technology innovations that were actually created to help the disability community now help everyone,” pointing to voice-to-text as Exhibit A. She added the same opportunity lies before us with AI, though she acknowledged there exists a “fear gap” rooted in reality that’s a rubicon requiring crossing. At a high level, Siegel told me the entire raison d’être for the Summit is to “talk about how we can center equality in AI and [identify] the actual steps we can take to make sure underrepresented communities are centered in the design and the testing of AI.” Indeed, there are “principles we need to follow in order to really democratize technology that’s for everyone.”
At first blush, you’d be forgiven if you didn’t naturally associate a company famous for building enterprise-oriented cloud computing software with accessibility. But Salesforce is exactly that, as evidenced numerous times in the annals of this column’s coverage. For her part, Siegel told me what she loves most about the company is it’s “built on this idea that business is the greatest platform for change,” noting that one of the company’s core values is equality. Equality, Siegel said, is a guiding light for Salesforce in everything it touches. That isn’t patronizing or an empty bromide; as I settled into my seat near the stage earlier today, I took immediate notice there were ASL interpreters present, as well as closed-captioning within a live video feed streamed on a screen above the stage. These are accommodations not found at every tech event, at least not of the ones I’ve attended. It was particularly striking to see in context of my sit-down with Siegel minutes prior.
The Summit was put together in collaboration between Salesforce’s Office of Accessibility and its Office of Equality. In addition, there’s work with the Responsible AI team to ensure “we’re creating technology that’s accessible, that’s inclusive and that reflects our communities,” she said.
“We’ve seen time and time again that when we center equality [and] when we lead with equality, it’s actually a differentiator for us: our products, our technology, [and] in the way we show up to our customers in the world,” Siegel said of Salesforce’s ethos on inclusiveness. “When you reflect the communities around you, then of course you’re better positioned to build technologies and solutions for those communities.”
Siegel was a founding member of Salesforce’s Equality team in 2015, with her telling me the original intent was to “open up access to opportunities the tech industry provides to everyone… that includes job opportunities, promotions, [and] advancements within a company.” She went on to say society is at a “pivotal moment” with AI insofar as the data is clear some number of jobs are going to be displaced by the machines’ slow but steady rise. By the same token, it’s clear new jobs are going to be created—indeed, one of the talking points of the aforementioned panel was how new roles in AI are being created that didn’t exist mere months ago—and Siegel and her team feels a responsibility to act in “these trailblazing moments” and certain ways in which AI can be democratized. Tech is about building too, so Siegel also emphasized the notion that Salesforce can “upskill marginalized communities” by giving them accessible tools with which to build AI of their own. There are workshops at the Summit predicated on this idea, with local nonprofit organizations on site to help attendees how to do this stuff. It’s as much walking the walk as talking the talk, Siegel said.
“In my job [and] in my world, I am a connector,” she said. “I bring together the experts. I bring together those who are taking action to make sure we’re building a more equal world for everyone.”
Personally, Siegel said AI is the perfect tool to help “accelerate those small tasks” so that you’re freed to concentrate on more big picture ideas. That’s what Siegel is—a self-described “big thinker person.” She cited the so-called “Einstein tools” in Slack that automates meeting notes and other administrative tasks such that “creative thinker can really focus on the big picture.” She shared an anecdote about how a member based in Japan uses Einstein because English isn’t his native language; Siegel said AI helps him “translate and understand complicated concepts for meetings” using live translation. “I think it’s fantastic,” Siegel said.
Siegel boasted many of Salesforce’s C-suite executives were in attendance at today’s Summit, saying they’ve all been “big proponents and supporters” of not only the event itself, but of the principle behind it. In fact, that’s one reason Siegel boomeranged back to Salesforce; she wanted to be part of a company that “believes this to the core,” she said.
There were two audiences at today’s Summit, according to Siegel. One is the groups of people who have “historically have often been left behind or haven’t been centered in big technology shifts” and get them to feel included and part of the dodgeball team, so to speak. The other group, Siegel said, is the decision-makers. It’s important to alert them to the risks (and the rewards) inherent to inclusivity in AI. Mitigating bias and harm is a huge part of this call to action for Siegel and her charges. When she says “everyone,” she truly means it. Salesforce is about building technology that’s accessible to every type of person out there.
“We’re here to promote the idea that [marginalized people] belong in the future of AI,” she said of building AI that’s inclusive of everyone. “Think about what we could do [with it] if everyone had a place at the table.”
As Dr. Pineda told me, there’s nothing about us without us.