Fireside Chat with Dr. Vivienne Ming Saanvi Kunisetty

 Fireside Chat with Dr. Vivienne Ming

Saanvi Kunisetty

Harvard Undergraduate Science Olympiad (HUSO) has recently hosted a series of fireside chats with three unique scientists- Dr. Medeva Ghee, Dr. Vivienne Ming, and Dr. Rena Robinson- about their stories in the science field, and the diversity in STEM. I attended the chat with Dr. Vivienne Ming, a theoretical neuroscientist, AI expert, entrepreneur, and BBC’s Top 100 Women of 2017. 

So, onto what Dr. Ming entertained us with. She began with a story of her first start-up business, stating that it is a story of courage. She explicitly mentioned that courage isn’t something that you can do suddenly, but that it must be practiced. If not, when the day comes for you to display courage, you won’t be ready. The start-up business was started by Dr. Ming, and involved the idea of replacing SAT testing with AI, and eliminating testing. Testing, according to her, may not be a completely accurate representation of a student’s performance. A device was made that could “read the minds” of students. Unfortunately, Dr. Ming was not taken seriously. As a woman, she was looked down upon, and many people felt that she wouldn’t be able to manage it herself. One man even offered her millions of dollars in exchange for her start-up. Of course, she declined. Instead, Dr. Ming and her colleagues began something called Sexy Face.

Sexy Face could match you up with faces of people that you might be attracted to by reading the abstract ideas of what you find attractive in your mind. The experiment was a huge success. Dr. Vivienne Ming and her colleagues then revealed the true purpose behind Sexy Face- to prove the validity and success of this AI. So, Dr. Ming was able to create a start-up company that used a similar system to locate refugees for family members who came looking for them. Then, the time came for Dr. Ming to show courage. She had to put her company at risk to save the life of one person. But, she wasn’t able to- she simply wasn’t ready. She hadn’t practiced courage before, so when the day came to display it, she was not prepared.

Dr. Ming learnt from this mistake. After this incident, she made it her priority to not make her company her priority, but helping others and bettering the world. She joked about the fact that when her kids found out that they could have been living in a mansion, but they weren’t because Dr. Ming was giving up their money for a better cause, they were a bit upset. “Promises had to be made,” Dr. Ming said with a chuckle. 

The fireside chat with Dr. Vivienne Ming was an entertaining and enthralling experience. It provided me with a view into the field of science careers and life outside my shell. It helped me see the challenges that I may one day have to face, as an aspiring scientist, in the real world. It gave me the motivation and inspiration that I needed to keep pursuing science.