Lessons from ‘The Future of Tech Careers and AI’ Panel
I had a freakout moment of major imposter syndrome yesterday. I was speaking at a panel at Google-sponsored Women in Tech event as part of San Francisco #TechWeek. The panel was on The Future of Tech Careers with an AI focus and led by the inimitable Elena Lenena.
Throughout the course of the day, the two other panelists, a female tech CEO and another ML expert, dropped out for real-time emergencies. An airplane delay. A COVID-positive kid.
Oh sh*t! I’m now the solo remaining speaker. Hundreds of people are coming to listen to me talk about AI trends.
I didn’t feel like an AI expert. Who am I to lead an entire hour-long session without the ability to hide behind my fellow panelists, and to be the expert talking to a room full of data scientists, product people, engineers and VCs???
The fear is real. I could feel my heart pounding. Worried that I’d be laughed at and exposed as a fraud for the dumb things I was going to say.
I took a deep breath, texted my business coaching group for support and reminded myself of some truths. I coach tech CEOs, serve as a product advisor, and personally use both ChatGPT and Midjourney. And right now, *nobody* is an expert on AI. We’re all figuring it out as we go along and deal with unexpected crises like airplanes…
