As an internationally renowned professor at the School of Computer Science at McGill University in Montreal, the Canadian researcher leads the teams at Fair, the artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory of the Meta* group, a pioneer in the metaverse.
Mrs. Figaro.- Was being a girl an issue during your science studies?
Joelle Pineau.- In the engineering school at the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada) we were 15 girls out of 80 students. It’s small, but enough to build critical mass. That means presence, energy and solidarity. I was part of all networksx – women in math, science, engineering… More generally, I would say that when women are at a table, they ask different questions. Gender doesn’t play a role in solving problems. But in terms of asking questions, yes.
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FemTech develops on militant ground…
Because she asks differently. How does it look like, stroke in women ? How does it manifest? FemTech addresses key issues in a demanding, difficult start-up world that requires being confident in your ideas when others are not. And live with the uncertainty.
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What if we asked women and men the same questions on video?
Robots for the elderly, helmets for epileptics… Have you tested a specific MedTech?
From a very early age, I wanted to build AI models that would apply to the physical world and interact with specific populations.
Metaverse and health, what future?
The potential is enormous. In Canada, for example, our northern Aboriginal communities are far from hospitals and video consultations are essential. You can imagine getting on them metaverse with augmented reality glasses and touch sensors that are placed on the patient by a caregiver, while the information reaches the specialist on the other side of the country. The metaverse breaks the notion of space, it can also enable remote care… Many interesting projects on pain control or depression also emerge with virtual reality.
They are committed to inclusive AI. This means?
At Fair, we work to develop AI solutions that we then bring to the public through the open science movement to democratize access to knowledge and enable others to use these technologies. It is important to me that Meta pursues this policy of open science, the cornerstone of scientific practice. In addition, my belief is that in 2022 every citizen must be able to understand the language of machines, learn the basics of code, how to learn a second language! Because with language comes access to a culture and way of thinking. We are in such an interaction with the digital world, we spend so much time there that we need keys to tame it. Learning to code helps solve problems. And once you start playing with that language, it’s still a lot of fun! Beyond the formal, there is immense creativity. Many artists are doing amazing things with AI.
Every citizen must be able to understand the language of machines, learn the basics of code
Joelle Pineau
You have been enthusiastic about mathematics and the violin since your childhood. The thinker George Steiner speaks of “sister disciplines”. And you?
For me, these two disciplines have a rigor and a mystery. In music, like in math, the more you know the basics, the more you have access to a part of the magic, to that level of abstraction that raises new questions.
Which leader are you?
I’m still researching! I manage 350 employees, I work for researchers. I have a predominantly female management team – I didn’t make it up, I inherited it because Meta has a culture of diversity. I defend the flexibility in time that is so valuable with children. And my driving force has always been curiosity.
* Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Group owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Award-winning entrepreneur. Baconaholic. Food advocate. Wannabe beer maven. Twitter ninja.
