Notre Dame Data Science’s Post

🧠 Our Associate Director, Samantha Adamczewski, attended Data Connect 2025, hosted by Women In Data™️ and Women in Analytics (WIA) last week! It was an opportunity to learn and explore the ever-changing world of AI and be empowered by this incredible community. Here are our top takeaways from the conference: ➡️ Stop Chasing Shiny Technology: Chase Quality Data. Cindi Howson spoke about how we often focus too much on the technology and shiny things, but not enough on the why behind the project. We have to ask ourselves, how do we want AI to shape humanity? ➡️ AI isn't just a tool, it's Leverage. Eileen Vidrine reminded us that AI needs to be a tool for human empowerment, not human replacement, and that we need to prioritize AI ethics rather than make it an afterthought. ➡️ Keep Humans in the Driver's Seat. Models will be wrong sometimes. Humans provide the moral compass and context that a machine can't. Kristy Hollingshead said we need accountable people "in the loop and over the loop" to ensure ethical, responsible systems. ➡️ Be Brave, Not Perfect. The biggest risk is not moving at all. We need a culture of courage and continuous learning. Embrace the "uncomfortable," and choose progress over perfection to build AI confidence in your team. #dataconnect2025