What Bard said when Google VC asked the A.I. about the value of corporate diversity

There is plenty of research showing that human beings are prone to bias in hiring decisions, and there are concerns that artificial intelligence may repeat these flaws rather than surpass them. Inside Google, there are concerns that the first iteration of generative AI now out in the public was rushed and just isn't very good. But Bonita Stewart, a board partner at Alphabet-owned Google's AI-focused VC firm Gradient, says that Bard passed an early, if simple, test.

Stewart asked Bard, Google's first public version of a generative AI chatbot — and a rival to Microsoft-funded OpenAI ChatGPT — about the value of corporate diversity. She says Bard was "spot on" in its response.

The AI generated many of the points she makes in pushing the case for greater diversity in the workplace.

Here is what Stewart, interviewed by Deirdre Bosa at this week's CNBC Sustainable Returns virtual event, says Bard told her.

"It's important for decision making, it's important for early innovation, it's important to make sure you know how to create an inclusive workforce because you will be building products and services for everyone and it's also insuring that you are delivering to the bottom line."

Gradient is looking for founders that are building this AI "data moat" and "go-to expertise" into their businesses, she said.

"Whether ChatGPT or Bard, it's coming, and it will be in the enterprise," she said.

But she stressed that as AI is adopted, it is important that the development of the tech reflects diversity in development. "It's a skill that must be built," Stewart said.

She noted that 25% of students at historically Black colleges and universities are interested in STEM and industry needs to make sure those students are getting exposure to tech companies. That is an issue leading HBCUs including Howard University have been attempting to solve.

"Exposure is important early on," she said.

Mitigating the risks of bias by building algorithms with diversity in mind won't happen without a diverse workforce as part of the development of the actual products.

Firms risk repeating a typical model of not pushing to build a diverse team until they've reached a critical mass, but Stewart says building a diverse team early on is even more important with new technology.

Though that does not mean every member of the team needs to be a software developer. "You can be an attorney or business leader or revenue or people officer, there are so many aspects of technology," she said. "You shouldn't have anyone sitting on the sidelines with all of this technology coming," she added.

Thinking about generational diversity may be as important as ethnic, racial and gender diversity as AI goes mainstream, too. She has studied desk workers across the baby boomer, Gen X, millennial and Gen Z demographics, and says that as AI products are woven into many businesses and services, designing them for generational differences will be essential, too.

"If you have not been inclusive early on, there are probably bottom-line impacts in thinking about the revenue value you are creating," Stewart said.

Discussion of hiring comes at a time when the tech industry has been laying off workers at a pace even faster than after the dotcom bubble burst of the early 2000s. "I think there have been over 131,000 layoffs in the tech industry and these are notable names," Stewart said.

Google is among the major tech firms that have announced significant job cuts.

Stewart said she would hope these firms are not simply using a "LIFO" approach — "last in, first out" approach to layoffs, though there are concerns that diversity initiatives will be set back as a result of the widespread layoffs.

Stewart says that beyond tech specifically, she thinks major corporations should take advantage of the bleeding in tech, which has long been an insular sector where workers move from tech firm to tech firm but not outside of it. "This is really an opportunity," she said. "I am hoping that the Fortune 1000 companies where digital transformation is at the top of boardroom priorities will say 'this is an opportunity for us to think about all this talent that has come into availability. ... We should be hiring them and bringing them into our companies.' This cross-fertilization can happen across the Fortune 1000."