AI Career Spotlight: Jo Stansfield

In this career spotlight series, we showcase the career paths, daily work, and impact of people working in AI. Whether you’re an aspiring researcher, an engineer, or simply interested in AI, these stories will give you a firsthand look at the possibilities ahead of you.

Today, we speak with Jo Stansfield, who founded her own business Inclusioneering. As part of that business, she spends time working on Responsible AI — exploring and mitigating the risks of technology.

“Retrospectively, I can tell a story about a career path that seems logical and like a natural flow. But as you make each move, each one feels like a step into the unknown.”

Jo’s career started in Software Engineering, and over time she’s moved towards working on the human side of technology.

Tell us a bit about your job

I set up my business, Inclusioneering, in 2021. I believe technology should be created by and for everyone, but sadly we are far from that situation today. Inclusioneering gives me a way to work towards that goal, with some awesome associates who work with me.

My job is very varied. As a micro-business owner I do just about everything you can imagine! My favourite work, and the reason I do it, is supporting clients to embed more inclusive, equitable practices into the way they work, and design for positive social impact of their innovations. Second is what I call inclusive innovation, which is working with innovative teams to build greater inclusion and psychological safety. And third is Responsible Tech/AI. This is about exploring the risks of the technology being developed or deployed, to establish good governance and manage the negative impacts, to strive for the most beneficial and fair outcomes for everybody.

How did you get into the field of AI? What excites you about working in AI?

Before working in my current role, I worked for about 20 years as a software engineer, then leader, building industrial software. That spans a lot of things, but a focus for me was on products that manage the enormous amounts of data associated with huge scale engineering projects, like building a ship or a power plant.

What really got me into the field of AI though, was when I pivoted my career path to focus on the human side of tech/engineering. When the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, I followed the news stories about GCSE and A-level grades being determined by algorithm with horror. It was immediately apparent to me how discriminatory that would be, and that an algorithm that essentially pulls everyone to the average of what it determines “people like them” achieve would be immensely harmful.

I signed up to work with a charity called ForHumanity, that builds audit schemes of AI systems. I got really stuck in and was one of the first people to write audit criteria, examining risks of systems but just as importantly also the governance, oversight and accountability of them. I love my work in AI, because it combines my passion for technology with my passion for people. With AI, those things are inherently linked. We are creating complex, sociotechnical systems. Determining what that means and how to manage it fascinates and excites me.

Can you talk about some of the career choices you’ve made along the way?

Retrospectively, I can tell a story about a career path that seems logical and like a natural flow. But as you make each move, each one feels like a step into the unknown. A lot of things are emergent. I began my career working as a software engineer. Over time my role transitioned to become a product owner and product manager. That worked for me in that I was closer to the engineering customer side, but it was hard to lose the technical detail in my role.

When I started a family I decided to work part time (4 days a week) on return from maternity leave. I’ll spare the full story here, but essentially that experience opened my eyes to the systemic challenges facing anyone who doesn’t fit the mould in tech/engineering lines of work. I had a tough time getting back to work, further complicated by office politics. But I found an ally in our CTO and as a side-role I started helping HR with data analysis about our organisation. It sparked a series of actions and change, which was amazing.

My interest was growing in what I now call the human-side of engineering — as a leader, and also from the inclusion point of view — and I signed up to take an MSc in Organisational Psychology part time alongside my work. Inevitably, I’d taken on way too much, and I couldn’t do justice to any of my many roles, including as a mum. I used a tool I’d learned about in the coaching module of my course — a life balance wheel — and it helped me get clear on what was most important to me. I made the hugely difficult decision to leave my technical role, and I approached HR to ask if the side-role I was doing could become an actual job, with part-time hours.

Astonishingly, they agreed. I became the first person to lead diversity and inclusion in the organisation, and moved into HR. Roll forward a couple of years later, and I completed my MSc. I suddenly had free time on my hands, and I knew I wanted to make broader change to industry, not only a single company. I’d focused my MSc towards diversity and inclusion in tech, and wanted to use it. Again I approached HR, and asked if I could use my now-free time to start a consulting business alongside my work there. Again, astonishingly, they agreed. I set up Inclusioneering and started my independent consultancy.

That takes my story up to how I got into AI, and was happy to find a path that reunited my technical and EDI experience. Almost 2 years ago, in 2023, I left my HR role and went full time in my business. It’s been an exciting and terrifying journey. The rollercoaster of running a small business is real, but I have no regrets.

How did you develop the leadership skills you need for your role?

Becoming a people leader was a huge transition for me. It came amidst quite a lot of turmoil at work, so there was that extra challenge. I’d been a product manager for several years, but leading a whole department was a big step up.

I was fortunate to be given a place on a women’s leadership programme, which taught me a lot of new skills and gave me a new perspective on leadership. Having worked almost predominantly with men, and going over 15 years with no women in my management chain, I was very curious about how a successful woman leader may look. Would there even be a difference? The other women on the course were fantastic, and from a range of different backgrounds, and at different levels of seniority. To my surprise, I did find that seeing how they approached their leadership resonated with me in a way that I’d not found before with my male colleagues. While I admired and learned a lot from many of them, it was somehow easier to “try on” the ways the women leaders did it, and see what fitted for me.

I also had some sessions with a coach, who really helped me to unlock how I was going to lead my teams. It was very empowering, and helped me gain real clarity and focus.

What are you excited for in the future of AI?

I am fascinated by the field of AI ethics and responsible AI. It exists because there are, of course, significant risks from the proliferation of AI. But I love working at that interplay between people and systems, and it’s a rewarding area to work in because it’s so important.

The technical application that most excites me most about AI is its potential to help us find solutions to the climate crisis. I’ve done lots of work now with engineering teams who are innovating more sustainable approaches to industry. AI is already helping with improving efficiency and safety, and has the potential for much more revolutionary changes to how materials are made to cut carbon emissions. Of course, AI comes with its own climate challenges, so there’s work needed to address that so we really get the full benefits.