Dr. Ayesha Khanna Mentioned in Tatler - Asia’s Most Influential
Tatler | 9 December 2021
Tech maven and noted advisor Ayesha Khanna is a leading artificial intelligence expert in Asia
Profile
Dr Ayesha Khanna is co-founder and chief executive of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions firm and incubator Addo AI, which works with companies such as SMRT, Singtel, Pakistan’s Habib Bank and Japanese insurance firm Sompo to gather data and harness AI for greater automation and more optimised services.
Dr Khanna holds a Bachelor of Arts (honours) in economics degree from Harvard University, a Master of Science in operations research degree from Columbia University and a PhD in Information Systems from the London School of Economics. She is a regular speaker at financial and technology conferences, and has also spoken at TEDx events and chaired symposiums such as AI Asia.
She is also the founder of 21C Girls, a charity that provides free coding and artificial intelligence classes to girls in Singapore. Dr Khanna is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Councils, a community of experts who focus on emerging technologies, and also serves on the boards of Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Sport Singapore and the Infocomm Media Development Authority, the government agency responsible for developing and regulating Singapore’s technology sector.
She is married to geopolitical strategist and academic Parag Khanna, the founder of data- and scenario-based strategic advisory firm FutureMap. They have two children.
“I believe that the true purpose of AI is to amplify human potential. For example, with the coronavirus affecting schools and interrupting student journeys, how can we use AI to better teach students through personalised learning? Or in healthcare, how can AI assist doctors in their diagnosis or help assistants work locally with the remote supervision of doctors?”
