The room was buzzing with conversation.
Girls leaned over tables debating ideas. Mentors shared stories from their STEM careers. Teams worked through challenges together, asking thoughtful questions not just about what AI can do, but who it impacts, who builds it, and why that matters.
This was the first-ever Techbridge Girls STEM Summit in Oakland. And for many of the middle school girls in attendance, it may have been the first time they saw artificial intelligence not as something happening to them, but as something they could help shape.
The Summit brought together girls from Bay Area Girls Club and Mission Graduates, along with educators and STEM professionals, for a day focused on data science, AI, innovation, and collaboration.
But unlike many conversations happening around AI right now, this event was not focused on productivity hacks or writing better prompts.
Instead, girls explored bigger questions.
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded into everyday life, Techbridge Girls is helping middle school girls move beyond being passive users of technology to informed decision-makers who understand how AI works, where bias can appear, and how human values shape digital systems.
Because AI is not neutral. Behind every algorithm are human choices — what data gets used, whose experiences are represented, what problems are prioritized, and who benefits from the outcomes.
At the Summit, girls explored those ideas through collaborative activities and hands-on learning experiences connected to data science and artificial intelligence. In their Changemakers: AI for Community curriculum leading up to the event, they examined how bias can appear in technology, discussed how digital systems affect communities differently, and imagined how technology could be redesigned to better serve people.
Most importantly, they were encouraged to question. To challenge assumptions. To see themselves as future creators, engineers, researchers, designers, and leaders in spaces where girls are still too often underrepresented.
The Oakland Summit also marked the beginning of something bigger.
As the first event in the Techbridge Girls STEM Summit series, Oakland set the stage for future regional gatherings designed to expand access to equitable STEM education and mentorship opportunities. The next Summit will take place this August in North Carolina’s Research Triangle.
This event was made possible through generous support from Okta, SEAONC, and PG&E, along with partners committed to creating more inclusive pathways into STEM.
The future of AI is still being written.
At Techbridge Girls, we are preparing girls to become builders, not bystanders, in the future of AI and technology.
