My decision to become an artificial intelligence scientist is one of the best choices I have made in my entire life, but the road has not been easy and was paved with many bumps along the way. Interestingly, many of them came as I moved closer to achieving my goal. I was balancing the pressures of being a single mom, raising a Presidential scholar, work demands, and then came the diagnosis of a serious, life-threatening medical condition. However, I was determined that I wouldn’t give up. From long before I set out to achieve such a major accomplishment, I realized that reaching that goal wasn’t really just about me. I needed to make a mark on society and get to the finish line, in part because I realized that I come from a long line of ancestors including some who endured the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Trail of Tears, neither of which were so long ago. As an Afro-Indigenous woman, I understand that many of the individuals I descended from did not have the opportunity to realize their own dreams.
Through my life and work, I also wanted to honor the life of my brother (who passed away in 1993 as a result of a tragic car accident) and the lives of my parents, who made enormous sacrifices in order to allow their children to pursue a college education and to reach for our dreams. My academic journey would lead me from being a masters student preparing to give birth to my first child, to pursuing a doctoral degree, to achieving my international credentials, and finally to become one of the few African American women A.I. Scientists. Becoming one of the firsts in a field largely occupied by men and women who far too often do not look like me, I hoped would represent some form of testament or confirmation to others that if I could do it, they could too. I wanted my daughter and other young people to know that they can accomplish their dreams if they are willing to work hard and truly commit themselves to achieving this hope.
We are living during one of the most tumultuous times in history, and science has moved center stage. With the impact of climate change, global warming, sea-level rise, and rapidly evolving epidemiology— including a global pandemic and a deluge of social epidemics—it is imperative that we have transformative and futuristic leaders who stand up to tackle unprecedented problems. The opportunity to have even the slightest impact on any of these challenges is completely exciting to me. I refuse to take on even a single project, unless I can see the good that it holds for society. When I look at a project, I consider is it helping us, does it stand to benefit humanity, is it safe, or does it bring some type of healing or knowledge of the unknown. In this generation, I think it is important for people to know that there actually are African American female artificial intelligence scientists here, Afro-Indigenous sheroes of the Queendom, ready and willing to take on the world’s problems and to find tangible, scientifically based solutions to address these issues, to insist upon the necessary legal guardrails and protections with regards to A.I. and to ultimately work toward healing the land.
For my work, I am currently engaged in developing a series of artificial intelligence-based inventions that will help to improve the quality of life for the blind, and hopefully help to make things more equitable for them. In addition, I am a reviewer for the nation’s first-ever National Nature Assessment (NNA1), conducted under the U.S. Global Change Research Program. NNA1 will examine issues of nature in relationship to climate change, health, environmental justice, equity and national security. As we approach the 1.5°C climate tipping point, this assessment becomes one of the most important research projects of our time. It represents a key goal of President Biden’s Executive Order 14072, which directs the federal government to carry out NNA1 which will serve as a companion piece to the Sixth National Climate Assessment. Lastly, my work in the area of epidemiology is focused on researching emerging trends in viruses, disease, and pathology, with a special focus on those with the potential to escalate and, or to result in a full pandemic.
An important lesson that I’d like to share with others is: “When all else fails, keep going. Each one of us holds the potential within us to reach far beyond the stars. Your destiny can be greater than anything that you envision in your mind. So, dream big and the Creator and universe will support you. You have one life, so live it to the fullest and enjoy each step along the journey. Always be true to yourself and thankful, having the confidence of knowing that those who came before you are standing in the gap, holding a space and rooting for you!”
E. Willa Simpson is an artificial intelligence scientist, researcher and freelance journalist. Her writings cover key issues and special topics related to A.I., social sciences, history, climate change, epidemiology and social memory of pandemics, world economic system and other topics. Simpson’s writings are part of the literature collections of Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins University, the National Library of Rome, Museum d’ Ethnographie de Geneve, United Nations and the Nobel Prize Museum. Simpson has also received the honorary distinction of Who’s Who in America 2025.