AI for Equity

Jenny and Leah Garrett

AI for Equity is the intergenerational podcast where technology meets justice. Co-hosted by Leah-Sunshine Garrett and Jenny Garrett OBE, we explore how artificial intelligence can be used to drive equity and inclusion - rather than deepen existing inequalities. Each episode features thought-provoking conversations with innovators, researchers, and change-makers working at the intersection of AI and social justice. Whether we're unpacking algorithmic bias, discussing inclusive design, or spotlighting grassroots solutions, AI for Equity challenge Contact : AiForEquity@outlook.com

  1. What Happens When Talent Has No Guide? Mentorship, STEM and the Future of AI

    6d ago

    What Happens When Talent Has No Guide? Mentorship, STEM and the Future of AI

    What Happens When Talent Has No Guide? Mentorship, STEM and the Future of AI In this episode of AI for Equity, hosts Jenny Garrett OBE and Leah-Sunshine Garrett sit down with Bamidele Farinre, Chartered Biomedical Scientist, educator, author of The Mentor's Journey: From Learning to Leading, and passionate STEM advocate. Bamidele shares her remarkable journey from growing up in Nigeria with dreams of becoming a pharmacist, to overcoming academic setbacks after moving to the UK, and ultimately building a successful career in biomedical science, education and leadership. Bamidele Farinre is a Chartered Biomedical Scientist, STEM leader, Agile Project Manager, and advocate working at the intersection of science, technology, education, leadership, and social equity. Her work focuses on ensuring innovation, particularly in artificial intelligence, is developed responsibly, ethically, and inclusively.She is Vice Chair of the IBMS Virology Specialist Advisory Panel, an HCPC Biomedical Scientist International Registration Assessor, Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Science, and Honorary Fellow of the Academy for Healthcare Science. Her proposal on AI equity in STEM was selected by the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Diversity and Inclusion in STEM and adopted into its 2026 to 2027 programme led by the British Science Association.Bamidele is also the founder of BAMS Space “No Ceiling,” a global mentorship and leadership platform supporting underrepresented communities in STEM. Through policy advocacy, speaking, writing, and mentorship, she continues to champion equitable access, representation, and ethical innovation across science and technology. Together, we explore: • The resilience required to overcome failure and setbacks• Why mentorship can be transformational rather than transactional• The barriers facing underrepresented groups in STEM• The role of advocacy in creating equitable opportunities• How representation shapes the future of AI• Bamidele's pioneering work on AI equity in STEM• Why inclusion must be built into innovation from the start This conversation reminds us that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. If we want AI systems that serve everyone fairly, we must ensure that the people building and shaping those systems reflect the diversity of the communities they impact. Connect with Bamidele:IG: https://www.instagram.com/bamiciousofficial/LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bamidele-farinre-352b1191/TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@simply_bamsstem/video/7593421101628214550FB:https://www.facebook.com/bamiciousofficial/BAMS Space Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/bams-space-no-ceiling-7208851946718330882/ Relevant Featured Links:• https://www.linkedin.com/events/7457408514643197952/ • https://preciousonline.co.uk/bamidele-farinre-ai-equity-stem-policy/• https://thepathologist.com/issues/2026/articles/april/lets-banish-the-bias-in-ai-models/• https://www.selectscience.net/video/advancing-ai-equity-and-the-future-of-laboratory-governance-with-bamidele-farinre• https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/bams-space-no-ceiling-7208851946718330882/•  https://www.britishscienceassociation.org/news/appg-on-diversity-inclusion-in-stem-launches-new-project-on-ai-equity https://thebiomedicalscientist.net/2026/03/23/towards-fairer-ai-future-stem• https://ahcs.ac.uk/2026/03/13/ahcs-honorary-fellow-spotlight-bamidele-farinres-submission-selected-for-appg-diversity-inclusion-in-stem-flagship-project/ Links for Bamis books': https://selar.com/m/bamidele-farinre1https://www.amazon.com/Mentors-Journey-Learning-Leading/dp/B0DBM69SBShttps://muraplatform.com/u/bamidele-farinre9815 #AIForEquity #ArtificialIntelligence #STEM #Mentorship #ResponsibleAI #WomenInSTEM #Innovation #Leadership #TechForGood #EquityInAI

    51 min
  2. AI Isn't the Enemy: Responsible AI Is a People Problem

    Jun 3

    AI Isn't the Enemy: Responsible AI Is a People Problem

    Most conversations about AI are stuck in a tired binary. It's either the technology that's going to replace us all, or a clever bit of automation that doesn't really matter. Both framings miss the point, and both let the people building these systems off the hook. In this episode of AI for Equity, Leah and Jenny sit down with Maria Axente, one of the UK's leading voices on responsible AI and instrumental in establishing PwC's centre of excellence in the field. Maria's route in didn't start with computer science. It started with a curiosity about the systems people build, and how those systems shape the rest of us. That perspective runs through everything she does. We get into: Why the dominant framings of AI, threat or toy, are both wrongWhat responsible AI actually means in practice, and where most organisations are still getting it wrongThe socio-technical lens, and why treating AI as purely technical leads to bad decisionsWhy education is the conversation nobody wants to have, and what shifts when you put the right tools in front of the next generationHow to build AI that augments human judgment instead of replacing itA conversation about power, design, and the uncomfortable middle where the real work of responsible AI happens.

    43 min
  3. Curiosity Over Fear: Dev Aditya on Teddy AI, Children and Trust in the Machine

    May 27

    Curiosity Over Fear: Dev Aditya on Teddy AI, Children and Trust in the Machine

    Dev Aditya has built the world's first publicly available AI teacher, an AI model for children with hearing impairments, and Teddy AI, a learning tool for young kids. Through OIAI, his work has reached tens of thousands of learners across four continents. In this episode, we talk about what equity in AI education actually looks like, how children decide to trust a machine, and why curiosity matters more than fear when shaping how the next generation meets AI. Hosted by Jenny Garrett OBE and Leah Garrett.

    35 min
  4. Whose AI is it anyway? Julia Stamm on Women, Power and Responsible Innovation

    May 20

    Whose AI is it anyway? Julia Stamm on Women, Power and Responsible Innovation

    In this episode of AI for Equity, Jenny Garrett OBE and Leah Garrett sit down with Julia Stamm, founder of C-Shapes AI and a leading voice on responsible AI innovation in Europe. Julia came to AI through social science, not engineering, and that lens shapes everything about how she works: from her years funding innovation across European institutions to her current mission of amplifying the women pioneering responsible AI. We talk about why AI is a human capability challenge before it's a technical one, why the same handful of names keep dominating the AI conversation, and what it actually takes to build a more inclusive ecosystem. Julia shares the thinking behind C-Shapes AI, the role of education and regulation in responsible AI use, and the practical work of equipping female leaders with the strategic fluency to engage confidently with AI in their organisations. If you're interested in where technology meets power, diversity, and social impact, this conversation is for you. In this episode: Julia's path from social science to AI leadershipWhy technology doesn't exist in a vacuumThe visibility problem for women in AIResponsible AI as a collective responsibilityBuilding diverse AI ecosystems that deliver real outcomesThe Responsible AI Use Act and what it signals for EuropeFollow AI for Equity for new episodes every week. #AIforEquity #WomenInAI #ResponsibleAI #DiversityInTech

    51 min
  5. The Founder Who Coded Her Way Out: Inkar Kenzhessarina on Daisy and AI for Mental Health

    May 13

    The Founder Who Coded Her Way Out: Inkar Kenzhessarina on Daisy and AI for Mental Health

    Inkar Kenzhessarina didn't set out to build a mental health startup. With a background in international relations and law, founding a company was never the plan, until burnout and clinical depression during her master's in Sweden made it impossible to ignore the gap between people who need mental health support and people who can actually access it. Daisy, the AI platform she went on to build, is an attempt to close that gap. It runs on transparency, so users know they're talking to a chatbot. Anonymity, so there's no human waiting on the other end and no judgement. And clear ethical guardrails, including automatic redirection to crisis services when a user shows signs of being in danger. In this episode of AI for Equity, Inkar joins Jenny Garrett OBE and Leah Garrett to talk about: The pivot from law to founder, and why personal pain became professional purposeHow she taught herself to code and built an MVP from scratchWhat early users are actually doing with Daisy, versus what she expectedThe cultural stigma around mental health in Kazakhstan, and how AI shifts the equationThe ethical complexities of building AI that holds people in their hardest momentsWhat transparency and safeguarding look like when the user on the other end is vulnerableIf you're interested in AI applied to wellbeing, in founder stories that begin in personal crisis, or in what ethical design looks like in mental health tech, this one is for you. Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. #AIForEquity #MentalHealth #EthicalAI #FoundersStory #MentalHealthTech #Daisy #FemaleFounders #AIForGood #Wellbeing

    39 min
  6. Why the Best AI People Don't Come From Tech: Ideja Bajra on the Power of the Pivot

    May 6

    Why the Best AI People Don't Come From Tech: Ideja Bajra on the Power of the Pivot

    Ideja Bajra was on track for a PhD in cell biology when ChatGPT landed and rerouted everything. In this episode, Leah Garrett sits down with Ideja, founder of her own AI consultancy, to talk about the nonlinear path that took her from St Andrews labs to running a business demystifying AI for companies. They cover the random accelerator email that gave her two weeks to invent a business, why a science communication background turned out to be the perfect foundation for working in AI, and what a genuinely human-centred approach to the technology looks like in practice. This one's for anyone whose CV doesn't match the career they actually want, anyone mid-pivot, and anyone tired of being told AI belongs only to computer scientists. In this episode: Why Ideja's name means "idea" in Albanian, and how it shaped herPivoting from cell biology to AI without a roadmapThe two-week sprint that became a consultancyHuman-centred AI, beyond the buzzwordHow science communication and teaching feed into techAI in education, and the authenticity questionFollowing intuition when the linear path falls apartListen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

    37 min
  7. Who Gets Sold a Fake Friend? The Equity Cost of AI Intimacy.

    Apr 29

    Who Gets Sold a Fake Friend? The Equity Cost of AI Intimacy.

    AI partners are here. Apps that remember your birthday, mirror your moods, and never argue. For a generation already battling record loneliness, the appeal is obvious. But who is this product really designed for, and who pays the price? In this episode, Leah and Jenny Garrett OBE unpack the rise of AI companionship: the WHO data linking 871,000 annual deaths to loneliness, the apps cashing in on that grief, and the equity cost of selling frictionless intimacy to the people least equipped to question it. We get into the politics of love as a subscription, who's most at risk, and why frictionless love is a contradiction in terms. Listen now on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube.

    40 min
  8. Four Generations of Medicine: One Radical New Tool

    Apr 22

    Four Generations of Medicine: One Radical New Tool

    Dr Keshav Malhotra's great-grandfather started practising medicine in India. Four generations later, Keshav is sitting at the intersection of embryology and artificial intelligence, chairing the embryology wing of the Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction and working with the Alpha Scientists board to push reproductive science forward globally. In this episode, we trace that lineage, not just as a family story but as a lens on how medicine evolves. Each generation inherited the questions the last one couldn't answer. Now, the question on the table is this: what happens when AI enters the fertility clinic? We get into the real stuff. Time-lapse systems grading embryos while clinicians sleep. Digital chatbots triaging patients before they ever see a specialist. The genuine promise of making IVF faster, smarter, and more accessible, particularly in regions where reproductive healthcare is stretched thin. But we also get honest about the gaps. Most patients going through IVF have no idea an algorithm played a role in their treatment. The datasets powering these tools skew heavily towards European and American populations. And the conversation around informed consent in AI-assisted fertility is still catching up with the technology itself. If you work in health, tech, policy, or you've ever navigated the fertility system yourself, this one matters.

    43 min
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About

AI for Equity is the intergenerational podcast where technology meets justice. Co-hosted by Leah-Sunshine Garrett and Jenny Garrett OBE, we explore how artificial intelligence can be used to drive equity and inclusion - rather than deepen existing inequalities. Each episode features thought-provoking conversations with innovators, researchers, and change-makers working at the intersection of AI and social justice. Whether we're unpacking algorithmic bias, discussing inclusive design, or spotlighting grassroots solutions, AI for Equity challenge Contact : AiForEquity@outlook.com

Information

  • Creator
    Jenny and Leah Garrett
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Jenny and Leah Garrett
  • Show Website
    AI for Equity