Image Credits:SXSW (opens in a new window)

AI scientist, entrepreneur, and investor Rana el Kaliouby is worried that AI could become another “boys’ club” in the tech industry. At the SXSW conference in Austin on Sunday, el Kaliouby shared her view that a lack of diversity in the field could lead to economic disadvantages for women in tech, with further ramifications.

“I think AI today is a boys’ club. I think diversity is not a very popular conversation topic these days, but I think it’s so important because AI is creating incredible economic opportunity,” el Kaliouby said onstage, when asked if the perception of AI being a boys’ club was a myth. (The interviewer showed a series of headlines from TechCrunch showcasing AI startups with male founders to demonstrate the point.)

Image Credits:SXSW (opens in a new window)

El Kaliouby, who sold her emotion-detection software company Affectiva in 2021 and is now co-founder and general partner at Blue Tulip Ventures, said that three out of four investments at her firm are in startups with women CEOs.

“I don’t ‘just’ invest in women,” she clarified. “But I really try to seek these women founders and support them, if not by a check, but in other ways, because they’re not getting the opportunity that they should and they need.”

“If women are left out — because they’re not founding these companies, because they’re not getting the funding, because they’re not even investing in the funds that are investing in these companies — we’re going to look back five years from now or a decade from now, and…we’re going to have widened the economic gap like crazy. So this is something that really concerns me,” el Kaliouby noted.

Her reference to the current “unpopularity” of the topic of diversity follows the Trump administration’s rollback of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and initiatives, which then spilled over to the tech industry. These changes don’t just impact how tech companies hire, but also how their products are developed. In AI, for instance, companies may feel pressure to align their models’ outputs with the White House’s priorities.

For el Kaliouby, a lack of diversity isn’t just about the potential for economic disadvantage, she said — it’s also about the outcome.

“I do think we are living in a very exciting time. But I also feel strongly that if we don’t intervene, like, if we don’t really stand up for what we care about like ethics and diversity of thought and perspective, and prioritizing this idea of centering around the humans…the outcome may not be great,” she added. “So I feel like it’s a very critical moment to use our voices and our leadership to shape where this is going.”