WAI Connect Zuid-Holland: Women in AI Benelux x Zuid-Holland AI Hub (Side event of Upstream festival 2025)
WAI Connect Zuid-Holland: Women in AI Benelux X Zuid-Holland AI Hub (Upstream Festival Side Event)
WAI Connect is a Women in AI Benelux signature event series hosted across the Netherlands and Benelux —designed to spotlight local female talent working and innovating within AI, spark conversations, and build cross-sector collaboration in AI.
Organized by Women in AI Benelux in partnership AI Hub Zuid-Holland, this edition is part of Upstream 2025.
What’s in store:
This edition explores how AI innovation and imperfection go hand in hand—and how UX professionals can thrive as generative AI enters design and research workflows.
Join us for two sharp, honest talks that unpack the complexities of human-AI collaboration.
Whether you’re building AI, using it, or just AI curious—you’re welcome here. This event is free and open to all, regardless of gender.
Agenda:
15:30 | Walk in
16:00 - 16:30 | When AI Meets UX: What It Means for Researchers, Designers, and Product Managers
Jie Li, Chief Scientific Officer @ Human-AI Symbiosis Alliance (H-AISA)
As Generative AI enters UX workflows, it’s not just about changing how we work, but also raising deeper questions about what it means to be a UX professional. From automated user insights to AI-generated design solutions, roles like UX researcher, designer, and product manager are being redefined.
Jie shares research insights on how UX teams are integrating AI into daily work, what’s gained and lost in the process, and the new ethical tensions arising when AI starts doing user research and design.
✨ Takeaway:
This talk opens up space for honest conversation about how we navigate the tension between efficiency and empathy, automation and agency—deciding how to collaborate with AI without losing the joy, empathy, and agency that makes our work meaningful.
16:30 - 16:40 | Break
16:40 - 17:10 | Artificial (im)perfection
Tessa Bruijne, Research Scientist Digital Society at TNO Vector
Fear of imperfection in AI can hold back progress—but unregulated innovation brings its own risks.
Tessa unpacks how we can move forward with AI by understanding both the flaws in AI systems and the social contexts they impact.
✨ Takeaway:
You’ll walk away with a more constructive and practical lens on how to develop and implement AI responsibly. Especially relevant as generative AI tools rapidly being introduced across industries requires us to consider how to deal with imperfect AI in practice.
17:10 - 18:30 | Networking, drinks and bites
Why join us:
Real perspectives on AI and human collaboration
Understand key ethical, governance and design challenges
Build new connections with peers shaping AI’s future
Who’s it for:
Open to everyone—whether you’re deep in AI, working in design, or simply exploring the space. Free to attend, all genders welcome.
ℹ️ Please note:
Photos will be taken at the event. If you'd rather not be photographed, let the hosts know on arrival.
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