The conversation around artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on society has been the talk of the town lately, and one woman is here to ensure that the Black community is able to reap the benefits.
“My stories are a lot more interesting, my jokes are a lot more funnier and my me time is a lot more productive,” said Karen Pavlin, ServiceNow’s senior vice president and chief equity and inclusion officer, when she took the stage during AFROTECH Conference 2023 to discuss a more inclusive future for AI. “Professionally, it’s become like my little business strategist. It’s become my personal assistant.”
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Beyond just that, Pavlin shared an example of how leaning into AI’s benefits has increased her own efficiency and why the time is now for people who look like her to tap in.
“A couple of weeks ago, I was on a business trip in Tokyo, and I had six hours to spare,” she recalled. “I had six hours of downtime, and I was thinking how do I get it all in? So I went to ChatGPT, I plugged in my hotel location and I said, ‘I have six hours and I want to see a couple of museums, one or two, a temple, I wanna shop because I always wanna shop and then I wanna also have an Omakase, which is sushi tasting experience… and by the way I need to get 10,000 steps in.’”
Pavlin explained that in a matter of moments she received an itinerary to help her maximize the short amount of free time she had during the trip.
“Within less than 30 seconds, an itinerary popped up for me, literally by the hour,” she shared. “Talk about the power of saving me hours of time researching or with the concierge.”
What’s more, as a leader in the DE&I space, Pavlin says the technology has also saved her from making a huge mistake when approaching sensitive topics such as living with a disability.
“A couple of months ago, I was writing a narrative on how at ServiceNow we are supporting our people with disabilities, and when I was talking about disabilities, I was talking about not just a physical disability, but a silent one,” she explained. “I thought I wrote this beautiful blog, and I was trying to get across the point that most companies are paralyzed when it comes to having the courage to have these conversations.”
In an effort to check what had just been written, Pavlin dropped the story into ChatGPT and was surprised by the platform’s response.
“You know what it came back and said? It said using the term ‘paralyze’ is offensive and I could have, in that one little word… my reputation could have been on the floor,” she expressed.
While there are still some reservations about AI and its effect on the Black community, Pavlin reiterated that, if used properly, the technology can easily become a tool to help everyone win, and most importantly, thrive.
