The London Women’s Forum, in partnership with NatWest, recently hosted Women in AI: This Is Our Defining Moment, a packed networking breakfast that brought together leaders keen to move beyond the hype and focus on the real‑world impact of AI.
The session opened with reflections on a central theme that shaped the morning: AI is not just a technical shift, but a leadership revolution. As AI rapidly reshapes decision‑making, work and organisational design, the conversation focused on what this means for leadership, and why women must be actively involved in shaping the future, rather than adapting to it.
Keynote speaker Caroline Carruthers offered insights into the fluid nature of ethics in data and AI, emphasising mindset over mechanics. She urged leaders to “change the narrative to one of exploration, questioning and not being afraid of failure,” highlighting the importance of recognising bias and balancing data‑driven insight with pragmatic decision‑making. As she noted, “Data gathering must be weighed against the vacuum created by not making a decision.”
The panel discussion, moderated by Victoria Cleverly, provided a masterclass in navigating this new frontier and explored several critical areas:
- Bias and governance: Where risk most commonly arises in AI systems and why governance is essential, not as an afterthought, but as a core part of AI development. As Paul Dongha reflected, governance plays a vital role in validating models, observing their evolution, and managing drift over time.
- Shifting skills and value: Diana Kennedy spoke to the changing talent landscape, noting that success is increasingly less about technical proficiency alone and more about creativity and systems thinking. “We neglect our creativity at our peril,” she warned.
- Human contribution in an AI‑enabled world: Sapna Dattani highlighted how AI is changing where value sits in work, forcing organisations and individuals to rethink what uniquely human capabilities, judgement, empathy, and context, really matter.
- Leading through uncertainty: David Grunwald grounded the discussion with a reminder that certainty about the future of AI is often misleading, underscoring the need for adaptable, cross‑disciplinary thinking and humility as the technology evolves.
A strong and consistent message emerged across the morning: there is no fixed rulebook for AI. It is being shaped now, through leadership choices, governance decisions, and whose voices are present early in the conversation.
The event closed with a clear call to action for leaders to lean into curiosity and creativity, engage early, and influence how AI is designed and governed before norms are set by default. The future of AI, the group agreed, will be defined not only by code, but by the courage to lead thoughtfully through uncertainty.
The London Women’s Forum extends its thanks to all speakers, panellists, partners, volunteers, and attendees who contributed to an insightful and energising discussion. By coming together as a community at this defining moment, women can do more than adapt to the future of AI, they can help shape it.
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