Why Diversity Is More Important Than The Next Big Tech (and how to increase diversity in STEM)

08/22/22 • 39 min

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Anie Akpe | African Women in Tech (AWIT) | IBOMLLC | Innov8tiv

Silicon valley (and the rest of the world) get’s caught up in the ‘next big thing’. The next big technology or breakthrough, weather that be blockchain, web3 or NFTs. Founders and investors alike chase these technologies in hopes of mining some of the metaphorical gold that each technology brings.

But what if the real gold lies right in front of investors eyes? It’s not a flashy new technology or complicated scientific breakthrough - it’s diversity. Could different ethnicities, races, cultures, genders and backgrounds provide a new perspective among founders that could drive an even larger impact then the next big tech could?

Anie Akpe, founder of African Women In Tech says that the answer to this question is yes. Currently, less than 0.7% of all VC funding goes to female black founders, and Anie is on a mission to raise this number by empowering African women to unlock their full potential in technology, through mentorship, workshops, hackathons and more.

Here’s why diversity is more important than the next big technology.

Anie Akpe | African Women in Tech (AWIT) | IBOMLLC | Innov8tiv

Here’s why diversity is more important than the next big technology.

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undefined - Will Our Archaic Education System Ever Change? Hear The Answer From The Person Designing The Future Of Education (with AI and smart toys)

Will Our Archaic Education System Ever Change? Hear The Answer From The Person Designing The Future Of Education (with AI and smart toys)

Stefania Druga | X Moonshot Factory

Our current education is an outdated, archaic, system. And while most people accept that education will never change, Stephania Druga, PhD resident at Google X, is designing the future of education.

This episode is our conversation with Stephania, weaving in her work and research about computer supported coding, smart toys, AI literacy and educational platforms with AI.

The central question Ciara and Rachel seek to gain perspective on is: will the current education system ever change? And Stephania says yes.

We dive into the exciting world of how a technology can be applied to solve a problem (how AI and smart toys can change an outdated education system, or how computer supported coding can give thousands of children in Sub Saharan Africa an education.) This is the perfect example of a cool technology being leveraged to solve a hard problem (changing education in the West and access to education in developing countries).

Hear the future of education from the woman building it’s future.

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Forget the Hype, Here’s Problems Quantum can Currently Solve and What Needs to Change for Quantum to Reach it’s Potential

Brian Lenahan | Quantum Strategy Institute
Quantum computing is one of those buzz words that has been in the media a lot lately. There is a lot of hype and ‘coulds’ being thrown around. “Quantum could discover new drugs.” “Quantum could create better batteries.” “Quantum could increase data security.”

But these ‘coulds’ are very misleading, when the truth is that there are a lot of technical barriers (like decoherance) with quantum computing which must be solved before quantum computing will disrupt any industry.

But this doesn’t mean that quantum computers aren’t powerful and have a lot of potential. Quantum computers are incredibly powerful and are solving real problems right now as you read this. So in this conversation, we talk with award winning quantum computing author Brian Lenehan about what quantum computing is doing right now.

One of the most interesting points Brian raises is that for quantum to solve some very important and niche problems, it must be paired with other technologies like AI or ML. And the intersection between quantum computing, artificial intelligence and healthcare is exactly what we dive into in this episode of the Luminexus podcast.