AI is something distant that has no relation to their lives but, as this specialist on the subject says, “really those who are related to technology, have it linked to their daily work”.

Fortunately, Latin America is the cradle of warrior women who fight every day for their families, and their feminine condition and to climb professionally in technological dynamics. One of them is the Colombian Patricia Pineda who bet on Artificial Intelligence from the academy where she also trained as a systems engineer and business architect. And she recently finished her master’s degree precisely in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Although she is a specialist in the application of the resources that AI has for business purposes in measuring and improving resources to increase sales, for example, Patricia explains that “it is not easy for business leaders to understand what it is and want to apply it. It is a challenge that I take on daily.”

Few women in AI

It also implies a challenge for any woman to find in technology her field of work and adopt it as a professional exercise and the means to earn a living. Patricia Pineda corroborates this concept when she says that “in the field of Artificial Intelligence there are more men than women. In the mastery group, we did not exceed 10%. This seems to be the common denominator, perhaps because of the dense mathematical component that it includes. However, for me, the scarce presence of women has been a motor for action”.

For this architect and engineer specializing in AI, gender equality is a concept that she prefers to surround herself with, rather, than the idea that we are all human beings and work together on something that we like: “With so many types of genders that we have today is better to add our capacities as humans and contribute them in academic and labor issues”.

Artificial Intelligence

AI might sound to many people like something distant that has no relation to their lives but, as Patricia explains, we have it linked to our daily lives: “It is a lifestyle from which we must learn and in which we have to know how to manage ourselves. ., when I enter a social network to include my resume or look for a recipe on the Internet, the algorithm of my profile will tell me what is best for me, that is Artificial Intelligence. The use of platforms, networks, and others defines what you eat, where you go, who you see, and who you are. However, what is indicated is that you control the influence of Artificial Intelligence in your life and not that it exercises control over you.

Her knowledge of this new way of life makes her a leading woman: “I lead by example, I cannot tell another woman to be emotionally intelligent or empowered at work if I do not show as a woman that I make what I want possible. . Once I separated from my husband I did not think about looking for another partner. I decided to dedicate myself to work and to prepare myself academically for myself and my daughter.”

Patricia Pineda has built her personal and professional life brick by brick because the academy and her experience have taught her that goals are achieved step by step: “People, especially women, must be kind to ourselves. Pushing ourselves to the limit generates stress and we begin to fail. On all fronts we receive pressure, but nothing happens if we leave something to do later”. This formula has worked for her as the mother of a 9-year-old girl and as CD, dComm & Go to Market IT Latam at Unilever where she has been working for several years.

Out of the office

Staying mentally healthy is important for the empowered and successful woman Patricia Pineda is, who exercises daily in honor of the old Greek adage that advises keeping the body healthy to have a healthy mind: “In my spare time I read a lot, I love science fiction. I always look for inner peace, I eat well and I try to stay away from the computer and the cell phone when I am not in my office. I enjoy a glass of wine and I love cats. I look for activities that are different from day-to-day activities and I don’t watch the news because they cause me stress, especially those that have to do with child abuse”.

Her closing sentence of this interview with THE WOMAN POST is that although women should prepare, study and opt for better job positions, “there is nothing more important than spending time promoting their happiness and that of their family”.