Posted by The other night I gave a talk at Maple Village WI called: When women were computers.
The 50 women present were wonderful and welcoming and had a lot of really good questions which I will feed into future talks.
Afterwards they asked me if I could send some more information about the books and films I had referenced in the talk which is a really great idea and something that hadn’t occurred to me until they suggested it.
So! Today I created a small handout which I sent to them. I wasn’t sure how much was too much or not enough but went with four lovely resources which contain videos, links to books and films that I mention during the talk. Research shows that storytelling is the most powerful tool we have, and the better the story, the more it resonates, and the more we remember it. I know I want to be entertained when I am learning something so I picked the ones with links that would tell the stories in the most interesting ways.
I am putting the handout up online so anyone can access it. Sign up to my newsletter, complete my three-questions questionnaires on AI and as a thank you will receive a copy of When computers were women. And after reading, if there is something else that you would love to read about that’s in the talk, please give me feedback via my contact form, and I can adjust it accordingly.
After the talk was over, I was asked a lot of questions about AI and society, and so now I wish to create a course about AI. Read about my motivations to do so in: The talk I didn’t know I needed to hear which came directly from this lovely evening at Maple Village.
In a nutshell, I wish to create an experience that is calm and inclusive so that by the end of it, people will know:
1. what AI can and cannot do;
2. how to explain it clearly to others;
3. know how to use it to create;
and have had lots of fun along the way.
As the evening wrapped up they gave me some lovely jam, no Jerusalem they joked and organised me a lift to the station – I had been met by a friend earlier who had taken me to the pub over the road, so I had no idea where I was at all.
I find that time spent with other women is very powerful and whilst this talk may seem to be about the past, it really is an invitation to the future, one in which women must play a key role, because I firmly believe that this is the only way we will create a fairer society for everyone.
I forgot to get a picture of me in action, so here is one of the beautiful jam. I am very excited about apple pie jam on toast so watch this space for more news. I am no longer on Instagram so cannot post a picture there and today is the first time I thought aw!
FOMO? I’ve got you..
You can hear me give this talk online in two weeks time: When women were computers, 9th March 2026 at 6pm on VIA.
And, if you are interested in me giving a talk to your organisation check out my talks page for topics and ways to reach me.