As a long-standing expert and champion of AI, Didem encouraged pupils to think about how tools can be used to uplift communities, providing opportunities that weren’t necessarily there before. She pointed to the software development platform Lovable, which in June 2025 alone had helped establish 750,000 businesses with its AI code generation: the onset of AI making people’s ideas and concepts more tangible and more achievable. Speaking about the current climate, she said: “I can’t think of a better time to become an entrepreneur”.

On the future of work in an AI landscape, Didem – a Westminster parent – pointed to the importance of soft skills. The World Economic Forum recently reported that employers are favouring creativity, resilience, analytical thinking, and social literacy, to help navigate and improve AI and its functionality within the ever-changing workplace. The audience was asked to consider this shift when planning their futures, to hone leadership skills and to recognise the platform they have and how to utilise it for the greater good.

Many questions were posed in the session, relating to AI and its legal implications, and the controversy surrounding energy consumption. Didem offered that we are all accountable for the AI we use and should, therefore, play a role in ensuring its ethical and moral practice. If something is suspicious, we should call it out. Similarly, we must not be lazy with AI, those with the luxury of a good education should be using smaller language models to aid work, as opposed to big machines that do all the work for us and have a damaging impact on the world around us. It is Didem’s belief that, paradoxically, AI will help solve the environmental issues we have caused and those amplified by AI, but in her words “We’re not quite there yet”.

Also in the joint Entrepreneurship Society and Feminist Society audience was Head Master, Dr Gary Savage, who said: “To see a room full of girls and boys eager to learn more about AI and entrepreneurship from a trailblazing expert was fantastic, as was Didem’s message about the importance of using these powerful new tools thoughtfully, ethically, and imaginatively. These are qualities that Westminster pupils always bring to their learning, and will no doubt apply to their judicious use of AI in the future. It might be artificial, but Westminsters will assuredly use it intelligently.”

Saachi (Remove, HH) said: “Didem challenged the misconception that pursuing passions in the arts has no place in AI, and instead highlighted how vital creativity and soft skills are – especially in today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape. It was incredibly empowering to hear from a female leader in STEM, where such representation is still far too rare, and her words were a reminder of the diverse strengths we can bring into this field.”

Didem Ün Ateş’ journey into electrical engineering and technology started when she applied to university overseas without telling her parents. Didem studied at UPenn where she was one of just five women in a class of 180 in Electrical Engineering. As the Founder and CEO of LotusAI Ltd, Didem advises private equity, financial services, and consulting firms – including Goldman Sachs Asset Management and its portfolio companies – on how to scale AI with impact, integrity, and foresight. Didem sits on the boards of the Edge AI Foundation, Columbia Women’s Circle, and Wharton AI Studio, and she serves on the AI Council for Goldman Sachs Asset Management. She has been recognised as a CEO of the Year Awards UK 2025 (AI Advisory) winner, TechWomen 100 Champion, New Technology Consultancy of the Year 2025, Responsible AI Innovation & Growth in Business Award 2025 recipient, and a Trailblazer 50 honouree. Previously, she held leadership roles at Capgemini, EY, Accenture, Motorola, Schneider Electric, and Microsoft, where she helped launch Business AI Solutions at Microsoft Research and led Applied AI initiatives within the Chief Data Office.