To give AI-focused female academics and others their well-deserved — and overdue — time in the spotlight, TechCrunch is launching an interview series focusing on the remarkable women who have contributed to the AI revolution. We will publish many articles throughout the year as AI continues to flourish, highlighting key works that often go unrecognized. Read more profiles here.
Cathy Vidal is an American intellectual property attorney and former engineer who serves as Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Vidal began her career as an engineer at General Electric and Lockheed Martin, where she worked in the areas of artificial intelligence, software engineering, and circuits. She holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Binghamton University, a master's in electrical engineering from Syracuse University and a juris doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Question and Answer
In short, how did you get started in the field of artificial intelligence? What attracted you to the field?
When I started college at 16, I was interested in solving scientific problems. I had an oscilloscope that I bought at an auto dealership that I was constantly repairing, and I loved working on my Dodge Dart! This early fascination led me to GE's Edison Engineering program as one of two women selected into the program. We engaged in weekly technical problem solving across engineering and scientific disciplines as well as rotating work assignments in different technical areas. When I was asked to work on a team of three people working on artificial intelligence, I jumped in. Being able to engage in new and pioneering work in the early 1990s, which could be applied across scientific and engineering disciplines to come up with ways of further creative innovation, was exciting. I saw it as a way to break away from the rigidity of current design principles and to emulate the nuance that humans bring to solving problems.
What work are you most proud of (in the field of artificial intelligence)?
It will serve as a link between my current work on US government AI policy at the intersection of AI and innovation and my work developing the first AI fault diagnosis system for aircraft. As for the latter, I worked across neural networks, fuzzy logic, and specialized systems to build a flexible self-learning system in the early 1990s. Although I left law school before the system was deployed, I was excited to create something new in the relatively nascent field of AI (compared to where AI exists today) and to work with GE research PhDs to share lessons learned across our projects. I was so excited about AI that I ended up writing my master's thesis about my work.
How do you overcome the challenges of the male-dominated technology industry and, by extension, the male-dominated AI industry?
Honestly, in the 90s, the way I faced challenges in engineering was to conform (without realizing I was conforming). It was a different time, and it probably goes without saying that most leadership positions in engineering and in law firms were more male-dominated than they are today. Some of my male colleagues have suggested to me that I need to learn how to laugh less. But I found joy in life and what I was doing! I remember speaking in front of a room full of women at a women's conference we created in the mid-2000s (before women's conferences became the norm). When I finished speaking, a number of attendees came to congratulate me on my speech and told me that they had never seen me so lively and active. And I was talking about patent law. At that time, I had an “aha” moment – my appreciation for being authentic was how I felt through engagement and success in my job.
Since that time, I have been intentional about being authentic and creating inclusive environments where women can thrive. For example, I revamped hiring and promotion practices at the organizations where I worked. Most recently, our agency at the USPTO saw a nearly 5% increase in diversity among our leadership ranks in one year due to these changes. I have worked to support policies that open doors for more women to participate in innovation, recognizing that while more than 40% of those who use our free legal services to file patent applications identify as women, only 13% of patented inventors Invented by women. – So we are working hard to bridge this gap. Together with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, I established the Women's Entrepreneurship Initiative through the U.S. Department of Commerce to empower more women business leaders and provide them with the information and assistance they need to succeed, and I'm proud to advance policies not only to uplift women. But other communities have been historically underrepresented in our innovation ecosystem through my work helping lead the Economic Development Administration's Inclusive Innovation Council and National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. I also spend time mentoring others in my spare time, sharing lessons learned and developing the next generation of leaders and advocates. Obviously I can't do any of this work alone, it's all being done by and with like-minded women and men.
What advice would you give to women who want to enter the field of artificial intelligence?
First, we need you, so keep going. It is important for women to be involved in shaping the AI models of the future in order to mitigate bias or safety risks. There are a lot of pioneers out there – Fei-Fei Li of Stanford University and Elham Tabasi of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to name a few. I'm honored to work alongside incredible leaders at the forefront of AI — Secretary Raimondo and Zoe Baird at the Commerce Department, NIST Director Lori Locasio, Copyright Office Director Shira Perlmutter and the AI Safety Institute's new leader Elizabeth Kelly. It is essential that we all work together, across government and the private sector, to create the future, or it will be created for us. This may not be the future we believe in or want.
Second, find the tailwind and keep going. Ask the question and set your goals to get others to support you on your journey. Don't take “no” personally. Look at “no” and resistance as headwinds. Find your tailwind, those mentors and sponsors who have bought into you, your success and what you can contribute to this very important area.
What are some of the most pressing issues facing AI as it develops?
The United States is fortunate to lead the world in innovation by AI developers, and so we also have a responsibility to lead policies that make AI safe and trustworthy and advance our values. We seek to achieve this in cooperation with other countries in several places, multilaterally and at the bilateral level. The USPTO has a long history of this type of cooperation and leadership. To ensure American values are integrated into AI policy, our AI and Emerging Technology Partnership that we began in 2022 supports the Biden administration's whole-of-government approach to AI, including the National AI Initiative, to advance U.S. leadership in AI. More recently, we published guidance clarifying the level of human contribution needed to patent AI-enabled inventions, promoting human ingenuity and stimulating investment in AI-enabled innovations while not impeding future innovation by locking in innovation or unnecessarily stifling competition. As far as we know, it is the first directive of its kind in the world. We must achieve the same goals and balance when it comes to our creative sector, and we are working with stakeholders and the Copyright Office to do this.
While we at the USPTO are focused on harnessing AI to democratize and scale innovation, as well as policy at the intersection of AI and intellectual property, we are also working with NIST and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on other pressing issues including security and protection . The development and safe and trustworthy use of AI and the mechanisms that can create trust gained in AI.
What are some issues that AI users should be aware of?
As President Biden stated in his Executive Order on AI, responsible use of AI has the potential to help solve urgent challenges and make our world more prosperous, productive, innovative, and secure, while irresponsible use can exacerbate societal harms “such as fraud, discrimination, and bias.” “. and misleading; displacing and disempowering workers; Stifling competition; “It poses risks to national security.” AI users must be thoughtful and thoughtful in their use of AI so as not to perpetuate those harms. One key way is to keep up with the work NIST is doing through its AI Risk Management Framework and its AI Safety Institute in the US.
What is the best way to build AI responsibly?
together. In order to build AI responsibly, we need not only government and policy intervention, but also industry leadership. President Biden recognized this when he met with private AI companies and obtained their voluntary commitments to manage the risks posed by AI. We at the US Government also need your feedback as we do our work. We regularly seek your input through public submissions as well as requests for information or comments that we issue in the Federal Register. For example, through our AI and Emerging Technology Partnership, we asked for your feedback before designing our innovation guidelines for AI-powered inventions. We are using your comments in response to the Copyright Office's request for information regarding the intersection of copyright and artificial intelligence to advise the Biden administration on national and international strategies. NIST requested your input and information to support the safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of AI and NTIA requested your feedback on AI accountability. We at the USPTO will soon issue another request for comment to explore ways in which our patent laws may need to evolve to take into account the way AI may impact patentability factors or may create a minefield of “prior art.” This makes it difficult to register patents. . The best thing you can do is follow the Department's work on AI, including NIST, USPTO, NTIA, and the Department of Commerce generally, and provide your feedback so we can build responsible AI together.
How can investors better push for responsible AI?
Investors should do what they do best – invest in the business. Progress in responsible AI cannot come in a vacuum; We need companies in this space that are doing the hard work to bring the responsible AI companies of the future. We need investors to ask the right questions, push for responsible development, and use their money to support responsible AI in the future. Moreover, they should convince the companies they invest in that they should prioritize intellectual property protection and cybersecurity and not accept investments from suspicious sources. These three elements are necessary to ensure control over work and to ensure that work creates jobs and enhances national security.
