By Brian Trompeter
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more ubiquitous and capable, so the Girls Computing League is inviting area students to learn more about the technology and its possibilities at the group’s third Youth AI Summit.
“What we hope students come out of the event with is an increased knowledge of how AI and computer science are being used in the world and an increased passion and desire to learn more,” said Brian Zhou, CEO of Girls Computing League.
The event will be held Aug. 12 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Capitol One Hall in Tysons. No registration is required to attend the summit; admission is free. Organizers expect to draw about 300 youth in grades 6 through 12 from region.
Students will hear from 13 speakers and may participate in “AIdeathon” workshops, where they can submit business pitches about using AI to improve the world and possibly receive a cash prize.
Here is the event’s schedule:
• 8 to 8:45 a.m.: Reception.
• 9 to 10 a.m.: Speeches by Fairfax County Public Schools’ Superintendent Michelle Reid, McLean High School principal Ellen Reilly and Dominic Delmolino, vice president of field technology and engineering for Amazon Web Services.
• 10 to 10:10 a.m.: Break time, plus question-and-answer session for above speakers.
• 10:10 to 10:40 a.m.: Speeches by Ann Bonitatibus, principal at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology, and D.C. Superior Court Associate Judge Steven Wellner.
• 10:40 to 11:25 a.m.: Business-oriented speeches by Robert Zuppert of NVIDIA Intelligence, Jim Liew of Johns Hopkins University and Katherine Liew, founder of Women in Web 3.0.
• 11:25 to 11:35 a.m.: Lunch and question-and-answer period for the speakers above.
• 11:35 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Lunch. This period and the above one also will be used for AIdeathon team creation and registration.
• 12:30 to 1:20 p.m.: Robotics-oriented speeches by Nick Roy of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dinesh Manocha of the University of Maryland and Fairfax County School Board member Melanie Meren (Hunter Mill District), who also works for the U.S. Department of Education.
• 1:20 to 1:30 p.m.: Question-and-answer session with speakers above.
• 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.: Robotics-oriented speeches by Jonathan Widdicombe of the University of California, Davis; Steven Jonas of the University of California, Los Angeles; Tushar Desai of Stanford University; and Christos Makridis, who served on the served on the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
• 2:30 to 2:50 p.m.: Awards.
• 2:50 to 3 p.m. Final address.
The non-profit Girls Computing League, founded by Harvard University alumni, has convened two in-person AI summits before – in 2017 at the Westfields Marriott Washington Dulles and in 2018 at the National Air & Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center – and held events online during the pandemic.
The group chose Capital One Hall for a “really big comeback” to in-person events, Zhou said.
“Compared to previous years, this event has more of a focus on government and policy because of a greater attention from regulators and policymakers on addressing AI risks and inequities,” said Rishi Bathala, a rising 10th-grader at McLean High School who participates with the Girls Computing League.
“Additionally, this year’s summit has the highest number of AIdeathon categories, compared to previous events, in order to reach and encourage a wider audience of students,” she said.
The AIdeathon’s scope has become a lot wider, Zhou said.
“We’re interested in how students are going to be able to dream up and think of ideas that feature computer science and artificial intelligence in all of these different categories,” he said.
“I’m hoping that students who compete in the AIdeathon will be able to get funding to jumpstart their ideas,” Zhou said. “The prize money could be used for getting up a domain or setting up resources [to] start building and innovating on their ideas.”
Bathala, who is doing media-relations work for the summit, said being involved with the Girls Computing League reinforced her belief that all students, regardless of ethnicity and gender, should have proper access to education.
“By attending this event, I hope to listen to the speeches in order to gain more insight on the different types of fields that AI will affect in the future,” she said.
Artificial intelligence has raised alarms from critics who worry about job losses and the possibility the technology could be used nefariously.
“AI has the ability to do truly great things,” said Zhou, citing applications in education, health and robotics. “But over the next few years will be when policymakers and regulators will have the opportunity to ensure this AI is being developed and used for good purposes and avoid the scariest-use cases of AI.”
For more information, visit www.girlscomputingleague.org/aisummit-2023.
