Sharing my own experiences and successes. On Facebook lives and webinars, I would share my own experiences of working with AI both the good and the bad. I would talk about the challenges I face, how I overcome them my small successes, and how I am using my skills to make a difference in the world.

As a part of our series about the women leading the Artificial Intelligence industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Valerie Fischer.

Valerie Fischer is a Neuro Linguistic Programming practitioner with over 20 years of experience in advertising and marketing, and co-founded an e-commerce site for locally made products. This combination gave her a unique process that helps businesses transition and thrive online. Her Brain Science Selling framework has helped over 7000 online entrepreneurs increase their revenue by as much as billions in pesos in sales.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you share with us the 'backstory" of how you decided to pursue this career path in AI?

I have always believed in giving change a chance. In my past jobs and first businesses, I welcome change because I think it is there to teach us something.

So when AI came along, I was excited for its development. One of my business partners in a SaaS company I co-founded decided to put up his own AI Business Solutions brand and asked me to join him.

I like calling myself an AI Optimist. This is why I joined AI Business Solutions. Because while I am wary of the negative effects of AI, I reframe my thinking into focusing more on the good that it can do.

What lessons can others learn from your story?

I am a Neuro-Linguistic Programming practitioner and we are conscious of the different models of the world. These models help me understand why people are the way that they are and at the same time inspires me to follow the lead of those whose models and lives I admire. I like learning from them and I always wish that people can also learn from my story.

1. Manage your fear of the unknown, in this case artificial intelligence by learning more about it. The more you know, the less you will be afraid.
2. AI is a tool, and a very powerful tool when used for good. Think of problems, concerns, growth areas when you think of AI solutions. Prioritize its social responsibility, because for sure, revenue will follow.

Can you tell our readers about the most interesting projects you are working on now?

Right before this interview, I had a meeting with the Managing Editor of a digital newsroom here in the Philippines and he made me realize that the project we are working on is bigger than what I imagine it to be. It is an AI assistant aimed at helping overseas Filipino workers get answers to be their questions which can be very helpful especially during critical times. We are launching it in October through the AI Summit Abu Dhabi and I am beyond excited to finally be able to share it. I hope people can come and check it out!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I will not be able to have the freedom to dream and execute the things I want to do without the love and support of my husband. He is my confidante, my beta tester, and my over-all cheerleader.

What are the 3 things that most excite you about the AI industry? Why?

This is my third brand and I have always believed in helping small business owners start, sustain, and scale their businesses. AI is definitely a game-changer for this segment of entrepreneurs, and I am very excited about how they will be able to use it in their processes.

• Automate tasks. This can free up time for small business owners to focus on other aspects of their business, such as marketing and customer service. As a small business owner myself , I am using AI to automate tasks such as customer service chatbots, social media marketing, and inventory management.
• Personalize their marketing. AI can be used to collect data about customers and use this data to personalize marketing messages. This can help small businesses reach their target audience more effectively. Amazon and our local e-commerce brands have been using this for a while, when AI is used to recommend products to customers based on their past purchases or to send targeted email campaigns.
• Optimize their website. AI can be used to analyze website traffic and identify areas where the website can be improved. This can help small businesses improve their website's ranking in search engines and attract more customers.
• Scale their business. Since AI will be used to do away with routine, menial which can free up time and resources, small businesses can now focus on growing their business.

What are the 3 things that concern you about the AI industry? Why?

1. Privacy: AI systems can collect and store a lot of data about people, and this data could be used to track people's movements, monitor their activities, and even predict their behavior. This raises concerns about privacy and security. In fact, we already have a real estate client who has voiced out their concerns on the use of data we will be using to train their AI assistant.
2. Bias: AI systems are trained on data that is created by humans, and this data can be biased. This means that AI systems can learn to be biased themselves, which can lead to discrimination against certain groups of people. For example, an AI system that is trained on data from resumes that are biased against women may be less likely to recommend women for job interviews.
3. Job displacement: I'm half and half about this though. AI is already being used to automate many jobs, and this trend is likely to continue. This could lead to job displacement for many people, especially those in low-wage jobs. I'm still hoping that more jobs will be created with the new skill sets that we will need.

As you know, there is an ongoing debate between prominent scientists, (personified as a debate between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg,) about whether advanced AI has the future potential to pose a danger to humanity. What is your position about this?

As an Asian woman starting out in the tech world, I would be aware of the potential dangers of advanced AI, but I would also be optimistic about its potential benefits. I would believe that it is important to have a balanced view on this issue and to work towards developing AI that is safe and beneficial for humanity.

I have to say that yes, that there is a potential for advanced AI to pose a danger to humanity. AI could be used to create autonomous weapons that could kill without human intervention. It could also be used to create surveillance systems that could track our every move. However, I would also agree that AI has the potential to do a lot of good in the world. AI could be used to solve some of the world's most pressing problems, such as climate change and poverty. It could also be used to improve our health care and education systems.

I believe that it is important to develop AI in a responsible way that minimizes the risks and maximizes the benefits. This means that we need to have clear ethical guidelines for the development and use of AI. We also need to have strong safeguards in place to prevent AI from being used for harmful purposes.

I would be committed to working towards the development of safe and beneficial AI. I would believe that it is important to have a diverse range of voices involved in this conversation, including the voices of women and minorities. I would also believe that it is important to have a global approach to the development of AI, so that we can ensure that it is used for the benefit of all people.

What can be done to prevent such concerns from materializing? And what can be done to assure the public that there is nothing to be concerned about?

1. Protect people's privacy: Strong safeguards should be put in place to protect people's privacy when using AI systems. This means ensuring that people's data is collected and used in a transparent and ethical way. I trust that the big brands out there are already starting to fix this problem.
2. Promote diversity and inclusion in the development of AI: AI systems should be developed and maintained by a diverse team of people so that they are less likely to be biased. This means including women, minorities, and people from different backgrounds in the development process.
3. Develop and strictly impose clear ethical guidelines for the development and use of AI

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share a story?

Can this include the number of millionaires I have helped create? Haha! Because if it does, then I have brought a lot of goodness to the world. Them improving their lives and of their families I believe is a good measure of success.

I believe that my new venture, AI Business Solutions will help entrepreneurs get their time and freedom back with the AI services we will be providing them. This way, they can spend more time with family and focus on their zone of genius.

As you know, there are not that many women in your industry. Can you share 5 things that you would advise to other women in the AI space to thrive?

Instead of giving advice, I would like to share what I do instead so that maybe other women out there can be inspired:

• Sharing my own experiences and successes. On Facebook lives and webinars, I would share my own experiences of working with AI both the good and the bad. I would talk about the challenges I face, how I overcome them my small successes, and how I am using my skills to make a difference in the world.
• Highlighting the importance of diversity in AI. Like in any other industry diversity is important in AI. A diverse team of people is more likely to create AI systems that are fair and equitable.
• Challenging stereotypes. This is why this interview is very important to me. I want the world to know that women are just as capable as men in promoting AI business solutions.

Can you advise what is needed to engage more women into the AI industry?

I'm sure that I'm barely scratching the surface here, but here are some of my thoughts:

• Create more inclusive workplaces. Tech companies need to create workplaces that are welcoming and inclusive to women. This includes having a diverse workforce, providing flexible work arrangements, and addressing unconscious bias.
• Promote women in leadership positions. Having more women in leadership positions will help to create a more inclusive culture in the tech industry.
• Support women's networks and organizations. There are many women's networks and organizations in the tech industry. These organizations can provide support and resources to women in the field.

What is your favorite "Life Lesson Quote"? Can you share a story of how that had relevance to your own life?

My mom died when I was 15. I wish we had more time together so I can learn more from her. But there was one thing she taught me that I bring with me until now. "We all have our own stories". She worked in an office in the Department of Justice here in the Philippines and heard a lot of stories from prisoners and their families. She used to always tell us that we do not always have the full truths about people. It's not fair to judge when we do not know the whole story.

These stories are also relevant in how we relate with people. These stories are what make people come together. These stories are what gets tribes working together.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I would like to start a movement where people will start to feel more courageous. I want them to know that some of our greatest breakthroughs come from our biggest failures.

I want people to know that change is the only way to grow. I started Brain Science Selling as a new concept where nobody believed me in the beginning. The same is true for AI. People are scared of what they do not know. I want a world where we will be more open, rather than resistant to change.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

This was such an awesome interview! Thanks again for having me.

Please check out my website www.valeriepfischer.net and engage with Ai-Vee, my AI assistant!

I am also on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeriepfischer/ and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valeriepfischer

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.

About The Interviewer: David Leichner is a veteran of the Israeli high-tech industry with significant experience in the areas of cyber and security, enterprise software and communications. At Cybellum, a leading provider of Product Security Lifecycle Management, David is responsible for creating and executing the marketing strategy and managing the global marketing team that forms the foundation for Cybellum's product and market penetration. Prior to Cybellum, David was CMO at SQream and VP Sales and Marketing at endpoint protection vendor, Cynet. David is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jerusalem Technology College. He holds a BA in Information Systems Management and an MBA in International Business from the City University of New York.