Ivonne is currently a third-year student majoring in Computer Science at the National Polytechnic Institute, one of Ecuador’s leading public universities for science and technology. Initially, Ivonne entered the competition just to learn, but her determination has helped her go further.
Ivonne Ayala’s story is not only an individual triumph, but also demonstrates the core values promoted by UNESCO in its Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence: inclusiveness, equity, non-discrimination and promoting the full participation of women in the technology sector.
Promoting gender equality in technology
Throughout the competition, Ivonne creatively leveraged artificial intelligence (AI), developing her own GPT model that helped her learn more effectively and suited her learning style. For Ivonne, being recognized as the third best programmer at the TCS CodeVita 2025 competition was a proud achievement as she competed against many excellent candidates from all over the world .
“I believe Ecuador has the potential to tap into its own talent and innovation,” she said. “Many programmers have created AI and automation systems but have not had the opportunity to be recognized. I am proud to see Ecuador being recognized in the world.”
UNESCO has long warned against the reinforcement of gender bias in AI systems and has created platforms like Women4Ethical AI to promote equity. Yet today, women and girls are still 25% less likely than men to access and use digital technology, four times less likely to have programming skills, and 13 times less likely to file patents in technology.
Faced with that reality, Ivonne emphasized: "We must see gender equality as a given, a part of life, not something we have to fight to achieve," Ivonne said.
AI is not here to steal our information or take our jobs. It exists to support our lives, to help us develop our potential. We must not forget that AI is created by humans and the knowledge in it comes from us. Currently, AI is seen as a superhero with a vast information store, but that is our information.
Ivonne Ayala
According to her, the current time is a period of rapid innovation, women need to be more confident and proactive to keep up with technology, taking advantage of resources such as free online courses, books... to improve their skills.
Ivonne Ayala
Women can lead the tech industry
Sharing the ethical challenges of AI, Ivonne emphasized the responsibility of companies in managing massive data sets. While AI is still new and even the best engineers are still learning, there will come a time when AI tools will be fully optimized, paving the way for a new future.
Ivonne envisions AI as an accessible tool for everyone, helping to optimize everyday tasks and enhance human capabilities, rather than being detrimental.
For girls and young women in Ecuador who are hesitant about pursuing science and technology, Ivonne offers advice from her own experience. She herself doubted whether this field was right for her, but the more she learned, the more she realized the demand and rapid growth in fields like software engineering and data science.
“That’s why I always encourage women to join STEM. They are not just part of the change – if they are determined enough, they can absolutely lead the way. Their ideas, even if they are strange, can create extraordinary things.”
Source: UNESCO
Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/phu-nu-can-tu-tin-va-chu-dong-hon-de-bat-kip-cong-nghe-2025060216532043.htm
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