{"id":35838,"date":"2026-07-13T08:40:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T12:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/from-nasa-to-the-classroom-the-engineer-bringing-ai-to-those-left-behind\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T08:40:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T12:40:24","slug":"from-nasa-to-the-classroom-the-engineer-bringing-ai-to-those-left-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/from-nasa-to-the-classroom-the-engineer-bringing-ai-to-those-left-behind\/","title":{"rendered":"From NASA to the classroom: The engineer bringing AI to those left behind"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Growing up in New Jersey, Ms. Jetter saved the quarters her grandfather gave her\u00a0\u2013\u00a0not\u00a0for sweets, but for batteries and light bulbs, so she could build circuits from whatever she found around the\u00a0neighbourhood.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her father took her to the library for materials; her mother, a kindergarten and special education teacher, taught her how to explain complex ideas simply.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Three decades later, that curious child had helped build the GPS satellite system much of the world now depends on, worked at NASA, Boeing and Raytheon, and held one of the highest technical positions at Amazon: senior principal technologist in robotics AI, a role reserved for only a handful of engineers worldwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then, at the peak of her career, she found a new\u00a0calling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI studied artificial intelligence before it was as cool as it is now,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A decisive moment<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Ms. Jetter studied mathematics and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,\u00a0specialising\u00a0in planetary science, followed by a master’s in aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford and 20 years developing autonomous algorithms for spacecraft and robots.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

By any measure, she was at the top of her field. But something troubled her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis moment in time is so important for the world because of how AI is shaping our society and how people are shaping AI,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we do not have all the right voices in the room shaping artificial intelligence…the product we end up with will not be the best one for us as a global community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That conviction changed everything. Ms. Jetter decided her experience was better spent making sure no one was left out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ThinqueBytes <\/span>
\n Students in Ghana collaborate on a AI project supported by the NGO ThinqueBytes.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

A right, not a privilege<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

That is how her non-profit,\u00a0thinqueBytes, was born\u00a0\u2013\u00a0first\u00a0as a personal project developed over five years, later as part of the Distinguished Minds Institute.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Its mission is to expand access to artificial intelligence and STEM education among communities historically underserved by the tech sector. It has trained more than 1,000 young people across four continents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The approach is simple: break down complex subjects\u00a0\u2013\u00a0AI, robotics, rocket science\u00a0\u2013\u00a0into\u00a0short videos, or \u201cbytes\u201d,\u00a0each answering a basic question.\u00a0What is artificial intelligence? Should I be afraid of it? Will it take my job?\u00a0<\/em>For Ms. Jetter, understanding emerging technology \u201cshould not be a privilege; it should be a right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is a personal dimension to that belief. Ms. Jetter attended an engineering school where, she said, \u201cthere were definitely more men than women\u201d,\u00a0and has experienced the bias of people resistant to a different reality \u2014 \u201cand sometimes that different reality is simply brilliant people who deserve a place in this world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

From AI safety to global governance<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Ms. Jetter is no na\u00efve techno-optimist. She likens AI to a hammer: \u201cIn the right hands, it builds a house, protects\u00a0people\u00a0and saves lives. In the hands of someone\u00a0very different, it can be used to cause harm.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That is why she believes rules matter\u00a0\u2013\u00a0not\u00a0as an obstacle, but as a compass to help people understand when and how a product can cause harm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

he\u00a0describes a world moving so fast that \u201cregulations are sometimes being written while we are building\u201d,\u00a0often by people who lack the foundational knowledge to build responsibly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Consensus in Geneva<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

In early July, that conviction collided with the global agenda. Ms. Jetter and her team joined the UN’s first\u00a0Global Dialogue on AI Governance<\/a>\u00a0in Geneva, the first UN General Assembly-established forum on AI with every country at the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Opening the summit, Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/a> said AI, used well and shared widely, could \u201ccompress decades of development into years\u201d and become \u201cthe great\u00a0equaliser\u00a0of the twenty-first century\u201d\u00a0–\u00a0but\u00a0warned the choice was to \u201cgovern by design or drift by default.\u201d He noted that 2.2 billion people, one in four worldwide, remain disconnected from the digital world altogether.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ITU<\/a> Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin echoed the message: for AI to\u00a0benefit\u00a0everyone, technology and international cooperation must advance together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Days later, at the\u00a0AI for Good Global Summit<\/a>, where Ms. Jetter also spoke, the conversation turned concrete \u2014 AI for early cancer detection, internet access for remote schools, and critical-thinking skills for a generation growing up talking to machines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ms. Jetter could return to her old career at any time. Instead, somewhere in a classroom in Ghana, or on a screen anywhere in the world, someone who never imagined understanding an algorithm is learning about one \u2014 because an engineer decided AI’s future should be written in classrooms, not only in corporate labs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Growing up in New Jersey, Ms. Jetter saved the quarters her grandfather gave her\u00a0\u2013\u00a0not\u00a0for sweets, but for batteries and light bulbs, so she could build circuits from whatever she found around the\u00a0neighbourhood.\u00a0\u00a0 Her father took her to the library for materials; her mother, a kindergarten and special education teacher, taught her how to explain complex 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