Empowering Women in AI: Building Confidence, Context, and Care
- Araceli Esparza, Founder
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
AI is evolving rapidly, transforming industries and reshaping how we work and live. Yet, amid this fast-paced change, confidence, context, and care remain essential. Understanding AI beyond just its surface use is crucial, especially for women who want to influence how AI integrates into our communities and workplaces.
I am aware of the environmental costs of using AI, and I hope we can work to create eco-friendly AI factories.
I absolutely support regulation of the output and build out. I will be completely honest. I have been attacked for teaching this class already. Do I feel conflicted, of course. What is the solution? When it is already being used.
I support not having them built in rural areas of Wisconsin. I'm aware of several authorship work have been uploaded to AI, and I want to say that it was done by people. We have bad characters in every industry. I remember how vaping was marketed as the solution for smoking cigarettes, but we found out later that vaping is just as bad.
Bottom Line: I want to help ALL women (including Spanish-speaking) learn how to program and prompt their AI assistants so they can be limited and trained to do work based on the data they feed them.
We can limit how AI grabs ideas or uses text from other people by uploading a draft. We can also ask AI not to make up data and correct it when it does. That's what I did this morning.
I told my AI not to overcompliment me, and that it was a tool. I told it to ask me whether it needed data or to make up content. In this case, it made up our office phone number. I corrected it and asked it to update its memory. It apologized, and we moved on to drafting the email.
What is data? Data is the information we feed to AI. It can be Excel reports of our budget, and we ask it to forecast next year's budget. We can upload a draft for a grant and ask it what is missing, we can copy and paste the URL of the website, and ask it to compare the grant's expectations and requirements, and based on our draft, does our mission match, or what more data does the request or proposal need.
A Latino friend, who has ADD, and depression, said to me this morning, when I told him about this class I'm teaching with Empressa AI. He told me how he enjoyed having an AI assistant to help him write emails, because he typically overthought them and got stuck. "I wasted so much time writing an email, and now I save time, and I like having an assistant."
We started talking about how we are final editors, and given our Neurodivergent minds, it help to have AI there; but we have noticed it over compliments us! I mentioned how I trained mine to stop doing that, or to not go overboard.😅🤣
I’m excited to share my insights about Empressa AI Foundations for Women, this will be a unique learning experience designed to empower women not only to use AI, but also to understand, question, and shape its role in society. This is not a technical bootcamp but a supportive space to build meaningful skills and perspectives.
Why Confidence in AI Matters for Women
Building confidence with AI means more than just knowing how to operate tools. It’s about developing a mindset that embraces curiosity and critical thinking. Many women face the challenge of catching up to technology that was not originally designed with their needs or experiences in mind. This can create barriers to participation and leadership in AI-driven fields.
🧩 So What Is the Solution to the Ecological Damage?
⚖️ 1. Regulation & Transparency
Governments, NGOs, and international bodies should require data on energy, water, and carbon footprints.
Policies could mandate reporting, efficiency standards, and limits on resource use.
🧠 2. Responsible Use & Education
Educators can teach when to use AI not just how to use it.
Encourage students (and readers) to ask: “Do I need this AI output?” before generating content.
🔧 3. Sustainable Tech Development
Support research into:
Efficient algorithms
Water-less cooling systems
Renewable energy-powered data centers
These aren’t the best solutions, but they do move us toward lower environmental cost.
In this learning experience, women gain:
Practical understanding of AI concepts without needing to code
Awareness of how bias, data, and design influence AI outcomes
Skills to use AI as a structured support tool rather than a replacement for human judgment
Why Teaching AI Matters Despite the Cost
AI literacy helps people avoid harm (bias, misinformation, plagiarism).
Teaching AI with ethics can shape future developers, policymakers, and leaders.
Awareness of environmental impact is part of ethical AI education.
By fostering confidence, women can step into roles where they influence AI development and deployment, ensuring it reflects diverse values and experiences.
Understanding Bias, Data, and Design in AI
AI systems are only as good as the data and design behind them. Unfortunately, many AI tools inherit biases present in their training data or design assumptions. This can lead to unfair or harmful outcomes, especially for underrepresented groups.
Learning how bias works in AI involves:
Recognizing sources of bias - from data collection to algorithm design
Questioning assumptions embedded in AI models
Exploring ethical frameworks that guide responsible AI use
This knowledge empowers women to advocate for AI systems that are transparent, fair, and inclusive. It also helps in designing tools that reflect our values, labor, and lived experience.
Using AI as Structured Support, Not Replacement
AI should augment human decision-making, not replace it. This principle is vital in workplaces and communities where nuanced judgment and empathy are required.
The learning experience emphasizes:
How to integrate AI tools thoughtfully into workflows
Setting boundaries around AI use to maintain human oversight
Designing AI agents that support rather than supplant human roles
This approach ensures AI serves as a partner, enhancing productivity and creativity without compromising ethical standards.
Designing AI Tools That Reflect Our Values
This is my biggest motivation in joining this wave!
Women bring unique perspectives and experiences that are essential in shaping AI’s future. Designing AI tools with these insights leads to more equitable and effective technologies.
Key focus areas include:
Incorporating diverse voices in AI development teams
Prioritizing human-centered design principles
Creating AI solutions that address real-world challenges faced by women and communities
This shift challenges the narrative that women must simply catch up to technology. Instead, it positions women as leaders and innovators in AI culture and power.
Join the Movement: AI Foundations for Women
If you’re curious, cautious, or excited about AI, this learning experience is for you. It offers a supportive community to explore AI’s possibilities and limitations together.
You can join the program here: https://events.humanitix.com/empressaaifoundations?c=araceli-esparza
Let’s learn in community. Let’s set boundaries. Let’s design what support can look like - on our own terms.
Transparency statement
This content and class may include the use of AI tools to support learning, drafting, and idea generation. All final decisions, interpretation, and teaching are guided by human judgment.
Disability Clause: This content was created by a Middle age, Disabled Latina who sufferers from Dyslexia and utilizes ChatGPT as a way to communicate clearly. I also use voice to text due to Complex PTSD that my body has received over the years, making it very difficult to type. Voice to text has been a great way for me to communicate.
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