She Shapes AI Conference & Award Ceremony

Global women innovators join forces for first-ever ‘She Shapes AI’ event 

Some of the world’s brightest innovators in artificial intelligence gathered on the 50th floor at the UCL School of Management on Tuesday 18 February for a dynamic workshopping event and awards ceremony, connecting and recognising exceptional women in responsible AI for social impact.

Organised by the ‘She Shapes AI’ organisation, the inaugural event brought together women from around the globe who are turning the male-dominated and profit-oriented AI landscape on its head through their pioneering work across sectors.  

An opportunity for collaboration 

Affiliated with the Paris 2025 AI Action Summit, some 100 entrepreneurs, innovators, and thought leaders joined the event to collectively explore innovative AI-powered solutions for issues around media, community building, governance, and upskilling. 

In the afternoon, participants spilt into four parallel workshops to explore the potential of AI across a range of areas hands-on.

Gina Romero, CEO of Mettamatch, and Jennifer Crowley, Responsible Business Adviser at She Shapes AI, led a workshop on AI adoption and upskilling in which participants explored how to boost women’s engagement with AI. With a focus on increasing women’s share of the AI workforce from its current 22%, they brainstormed removing barriers, amplifying success through peer promotion, and drilling down on gender-specific challenges such as the lack of sponsorships for women. Considering complementary top-down and bottom-up approaches – to both educate leaders and upskill workers and consumers – they emphasised the need for organisations, policymakers, and communities to be onboard. 

At a workshop on AI & community building, Dr Julia Stamm and Olivia Gambelin (She Shapes AI Founder and Responsible AI Ambassador respectively) discussed the needs, wishes and expectations of the She Shapes AI community. She Shapes AI defines itself as a platform, ecosystem, connector and amplifier, and this workshop provided attendees with the unique opportunity to help shape the concrete offer and value added of this rapidly growing community.

Professor Angela Aristidou of UCL ran a workshop on AI & governance in which participants explored the importance of human-centred AI governance, and for users to reclaim agency, especially given the rapid acceleration of AI technologies. Potential solutions included holding developers accountable for unethical gains and incentivising them towards human-centred approaches; empowering users through information access and AI education platforms; involving users at the grassroots level; and more broadly fostering trust between citizens and AI. 

At a workshop on AI & media run by Sheena Bhalla, CEO of Module Xero, participants raised content creation, monetisation, distribution, business ops, and AI literacy as areas of concern. Focusing on the issue of misinformation, participants explored the idea of a cross-sector program that would identify the point at which a “fact” is created and dissect its travel across the open web, exposing misinformation while empowering users to understand how different kinds of information spreads. A second area of interest was combining AI learning with critical thinking so that school-age children could learn to safely and confidently engage with news and media. By approaching the issue through technology rather than as about technology, such a program would better help to protect children from online harm and encourage future generations’ trust in the media.

Recognising women innovators 

During the festive evening ceremony, six outstanding women – selected by the She Shapes AI Award Council through a months-long process – were awarded prizes in AI for peace, nature, media, education, democracy, and thought leadership. 

Branka Panic, founder of ‘AI for Peace,’ was awarded the AI & Peace prize for her work exploring the benefits, risks, and ethical implications of exponential technologies to leverage lasting peace, security, and sustainable development.

Diana Gutierrez, CEO of Optim.ai, received the AI & Nature Award for her efforts to make AI more ethical, responsible, and environmentally conscious through innovative tools available to developers and businesses. 

Jenny Romano, CEO of ‘The Newsroom,’ was awarded the AI & Media prize for transforming newsrooms globally with tools that strengthen democratic discourse and enhance the integrity of journalism.

Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo, founder of NightOwlGPT, received the AI & Learning award for her efforts to preserve endangered languages and empower marginalised communities to thrive in the digital age. 

Alicia Combaz, CEO of Make.org, was awarded the AI & Democracy prize for her work pioneering innovative, technology-driven approaches to civic engagement.

Dr. Elizabeth Adams, CEO of EMA Advisory Services, won the AI & Thought Leadership award for transforming the way companies approach AI integration through Responsible AI. 

Congratulating the award winners, Dr Julia Stamm, founder of She Shapes AI, said “We are at a critical tipping point. If we want to create a future where AI works for everyone, we need to ensure that it is shaped by many, not a few. By celebrating women from across the globe who propel the field forward and highlighting their impactful work, we show what is possible when AI aligns with societal values and responsible principles - and that business success and doing ‘good’ are not mutually exclusive.”

Speakers such as techno-futurist Galit Ariel and Yvonne Rogers, Chair of UCL’s Interaction Centre, spoke to the peril of AI when left in the hands of a tone-deaf minority, the need to re-evaluate our techno-cultures, and the importance of amplifying and supporting the work of women in the space. 

In closing the event, Dr Aristidou echoed Dr Stamm in her call to action for a future in which more women are driving responsible AI for social impact:

“Right now, the concrete is still wet – this is a rare and fleeting moment where we can imprint our values, carve out safeguards, and mould Artificial Intelligence’s trajectory before it hardens into an unchangeable reality. The future of artificial intelligence must not be something that simply unfolds around us – it is something we must actively shape, mould, and define.”

And as AI & Learning Anna Mae You Lamentillo put it beautifully: "Walking into She Shapes AI, I didn’t know anyone. I came as a founder, deeply committed to the mission of preserving linguistic and cultural diversity through AI – but what I found was something even more powerful: a community of women shaping the future of AI with purpose, responsibility, and impact. And now, I leave with a network I admire and a community I adore."