2025 CAREhER – AI & She | International Women’s Day Summit Highlight

【Transforming Lives, Innovating, and Shaping Sustainable Futures】

AI & She: Transforming Lives, Innovating, and Shaping Sustainable Futures

Hosted at the cultural preserved building Tsai Jui-Yueh Dance Research Institute, this year’s summit was an immersive experience, blending AI-powered art, industry insights, and high-impact networking.

In her opening remarks, Tiffany Chou, Co-founder of CAREhER, welcomed the audience with a challenge.

“AI is already reshaping the world,” she said. “The question is, how do we, as women leaders, harness that and shape it?”

From AI-powered sustainability solutions to reshaping leadership in a digital world, the summit sparked dialogue on responsible innovation and the critical role of women in shaping AI’s future.

【AI & Art | Preserving Craft with AI: An Artisan’s Legacy】

The event opened with an interactive showcase, highlighting how AI can preserve cultural heritage. Awu Chen, a “digital craftsman” and founder of SOOOUL Inc., showed how AI is helping to preserve craftsmanship for many Japanese artisans, including Kyoto’s 85-year-old embroidery master Kiyomi Osawa.

“After years of embroidery, Osawa-sensei is half-blind. AI, too, struggles to perceive depth,” said Awu. “That’s why we’re teaching it 奥行き (okuyuki)—a special kind of depth that makes art more than just a replica. The goal isn’t to copy her style—it’s to embed her artistic intention, so her work can keep evolving for future generations.”

During the live demo, CAREhER co-founder Christina Lin and Awu invited attendees to prompt with AI Kiyomi — the nicknamed AI agent in Osawa style — and generated embroidery artwork, offering a tangible example of how technology and tradition can coexist.

“Technology drives change,” Awu said in his closing, “But people decide how it shapes our lives, not machines.”

【Panel 1 – AI & Leadership | Keeping It Human in an AI-Driven World】

The first panel explored how AI can enhance leadership while maintaining the essential human qualities of empathy, creativity, and ethical decision-making.

Ying-Ja Chen, Solutions Architect for Healthcare & Life Sciences at NVIDIA, discussed AI’s revolutionary role in medical research, pointing to AlphaFold’s Nobel Prize-winning AI model as a breakthrough in drug discovery and biological understanding.

Meanwhile, Cathy Yin, Engineering Manager at Databricks, emphasized the value of open-source AI development: “AI research doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. By collaborating rather than competing, we accelerate breakthroughs that benefit the entire industry.”

AI is also transforming creative fields. Yusan Lin, Founder of Mirror Mirror AI, explained that it’s now possible to train models to understand aesthetics. “AI is no longer just functional—it’s learning style and taste,” she said.

When asked about how AI can support more opportunities for women to lead, Debra Bell, Vice President of DRAM Product Engineering Group at Micron Technology, highlighted how AI is making STEM careers more accessible. By allowing natural language processing to replace complex coding, AI is lowering the barrier for women in STEM and opening doors for a more diverse workforce.

As the discussion unfolded, panelists agreed that leadership in AI must prioritize inclusivity, ethical considerations, and transparency—ensuring that technology serves people, not the other way around.

【Panel 2 – AI & Earth | Engineering a Greener, Healthier Future】

With AI’s energy demand projected to increase by 160% by 2030, the second panel tackled sustainable solutions for AI-powered industries. The panelists explored how AI can be leveraged to optimize energy efficiency, reduce waste, and drive climate-friendly innovations, ensuring that technology’s progress does not come at the cost of the planet.

AI is extremely energy consuming. If AI’s power usage were concentrated in a single country, it would rank among the world’s top 10 energy consumers. To tackle this challenge, Catherine Hunt Ryan, President of Manufacturing & Technology at Bechtel, described how companies are now integrating AI-driven efficiencies into infrastructure and industrial processes.

But AI can also play a role in making the future greener. Xinmei Cai, Engineering Director for Google Maps at Google Japan, emphasized AI’s role in smart city planning and reducing carbon footprints, noting that AI-driven mapping and optimization are already making urban environments more efficient.

Sandra Helayel, Director of International Government Affairs & Sustainability at GE Vernova, underscored the importance of a diversified energy mix to meet AI’s rising power demands. AI must be part of a broader strategy to transition toward cleaner energy sources, rather than an additional burden on the energy grid, she said.

【AI & Community | A Smarter, More Connected Future Closet】

The final discussion showcased how AI is revolutionizing daily life—from fashion and personal organization to community-driven sustainability initiatives.

Debbie Wu, Founder of Mymika, introduced her company’s AI-powered fashion assistant, which helps users maximize their wardrobe and reduce waste, proving that “AI can make fashion more sustainable—not by creating more, but by helping us maximize what we already own.”

【Shaping the AI Future Together】

As the summit transitioned into an exclusive networking dinner at Silks House, conversations continued. The evening was fueled by new ideas, bold ambitions, and a shared commitment to responsible AI leadership.

One thing was clear: AI isn’t just about technology—it’s about the people who shape it.

From engineering and healthcare to fashion and energy, the women at this year’s CAREhER Summit demonstrated that leadership in AI must be diverse, inclusive, and forward-thinking.

With AI shaping the future of work, creativity, and sustainability, the question remains:

How will we, as women leaders, not only keep up with AI—but drive it forward?

This lovely and festive summit was curated with Bechtel and GE Vernova.

AI & She continues! This summer, on June 1st, we will be bringing the heat of AI & She to Tokyo. Stay connected by following us on LinkedIn and check out for more experiences on our event calendar.

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