After realizing she was the only female competing in a computer science competition in 2021, Ishani Singh, now a senior at High Technology High School in Lincroft, decided to take matters into her own hands to encourage girls to explore artificial intelligence.

“My first experience was walking into the row and seeing everyone in my category was a boy it was just really, really shocking,” said Singh.

“I wanted to create a community where girls will feel safe to learn the AI foundation and take their first steps on this journey, cause it’s really a powerful tool for everyone.”

At the end of her freshman year, Singh set up Girls Rule AI. “It took me around a year to develop everything so I have slide shows and coding material and I try to prepare what I will say throughout all these lectures … So that took a little bit of time to bring that up from scratch. Then I started teaching the courses the summer after my sophomore year,” Singh said.

Singh teaches the AI classes live from her bedroom. The classes are free.

Class sizes jumped from 15 in 2021 to 60 in 2024, Singh said.  Girls Rule AI now has chapters in 25 states including California and Maine, and six countries including Kenya. Singh has recruited four training assistants.

Support from her peers, teachers and school has been overwhelming, Singh said. She is now looking for sponsors to provide merchandise to further promote Girls Rule AI courses. And she is focusing on expanding the classes to make sure that women are included in the future of AI.