Humans
behind AI
Lise Diagne
Senior Data Scientist
London, UK
Lise Diagne
Senior Data Scientist
London, UK
I speak up for people like me where I can, I don't stay quiet.
When I tell people I’m a data scientist, I like to imagine them mentally filing me under the “geek” column. But I’m very creative and quite sporty, too, traits I inherited from my parents. That’s not to say I don’t love math and computers, it’s just important we see the richness of human character in everyone—and we support them to be their best in whatever they choose to do.
My journey into AI started with my father, who was the first person to get me excited about mathematics. But my spirit comes from my mother. She wrote a feminist book about women who work in the home, casting them as “invisible giants”. It’s always stayed with me. Now, as a Black woman in science, I speak up for people like me where I can. I don’t stay quiet.
I would like to be seen as somebody who set an example and helped raise people up.
My parents moved from Senegal to France, which is where I grew up. I still remember the first time I came face to face with racism. I worry a lot about the way inequality could be made worse through algorithmic bias in AI and data. Whenever I'm approaching a problem, I'm always thinking, “OK, what's the bias?” I work to ensure there’s more diversity in data science, which should mean there’s less bias in our AI systems.
I work with the Black Women in Science Network, mentoring Black women and girls who want to get into science-based careers. I’ve also worked on several volunteering teams around the world, including a project in Laos where we upgraded old computers for schoolchildren to access the internet. It was a small thing, but it made me want to use data and mathematics to make sure people in need get help as fast as possible. If we approach opportunities like that mathematically, we can make real progress.
Progress also takes leadership. My dad is a natural leader, a skill he discovered and honed on the basketball court. He played semi-professionally and comes from a family of basketball players. I played as a kid and recently picked it up again. It’s just a hobby, but I think the skills you learn in basketball are useful in real life, too. You need leadership and teamwork to win.
As well as being sporty, I also love art and music. I’ll often walk over to the South Bank, which is a hub for London’s music and art scene. Tate Modern is my favorite museum. I’m moved by the way modern art comments on foundational ideas. That’s part of what’s appealing to me about data science and AI, too; they’re fields rooted in the essential nature of numbers.
I started playing piano when I was eight. I have perfect pitch. It’s like I feel the notes rather than just hearing them, so I love the tactile sensation of harmonies.
Thanks to my family background I have a global outlook, and I want to use my work to help solve worldwide problems—the big ones that do not respect borders. I had a brilliant teacher who was more like a mentor to me. Because I was always good at math, I thought I wanted to be a financial trader, but he opened my eyes to the potential of data science to solve big problems.
In 20 years, when I look back at the work I’m doing now, I’d like to be able to say I made a difference. Hopefully, by then, we’ll have more women in the industry, especially Black women. I would want to be seen by others as somebody who never stayed quiet— somebody who made good noise, my own kind of music, to set an example and help raise people up.
Lise's photos were taken in London, UK.
It’s important we see the richness of human character in everyone—and support them to be their best.
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