For part two of our mini-series featuring Parfait, Co-Founder and CTO, Ifueko Igbinedion dives into the importance of incorporating the human experience into artificial intelligence and being a good steward of technology. She details her experiences as a Black woman in computer science currently pursuing her Ph.D. at MIT focusing on processing signals, image processing, audio processing, and Artificial Intelligence. Ifueko also highlights her goals for technological advancement: ""I want to use AI to build robots for disaster relief, for marginalized communities.""

Despite institutional obstacles and the lack of diversity in her field, she shares her excitement for the future of AI and her work to expand this technology to develop Parfait. By leaning in and leveraging the benefits of connecting beauty and technology, Ifueko and her co-founders are creating a pathway toward beauty innovation that we have not seen before. 

""I really feel empowered to do everything. And I think Parfait has been a huge part of it, but also just my growth as an academic and going through all the trials and tribulations of building a business because it's not easy. But being in 2023 and we're still standing after the past years that we've had, I think that has really changed my perspective. And now I really feel that it's mind over matter and I can truly do anything with this technology.""

Follow @fancyfueko, @my.parfait or visit https://myparfait.com/!

Ifueko Igbinedion was approached by her sister, Iso, about the difficulties of buying a wig that makes people look and feel great. They were motivated to find an easier way that involved Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Given Ifueko's background in Machine Learning and Computer Vision, she knew that there were capabilities out there to use tech to enhance the beauty industry, but most of those capabilities were only being leveraged to edit Instagram photos. Armed with this knowledge, Ifueko joined her sister in solving the problems that black women go through with their hair.

Ifueko graduated from Stanford with a degree in Computer Science and a Master's in Electrical Engineering. She's completed multiple internships at IBM and Google along the way. During that time, Ifueko learned that she didn't want to spend her life building technology for other companies. This led her to a Ph.D. program at MIT, focusing on processing signals, image processing, audio processing, and Artificial Intelligence. 

In her spare time, Ifueko participates in serving as the community service chair for a student association on campus. She also focuses on outreach programs in middle and high schools, teaching intro courses to high school seniors, and volunteering on weekends. You can catch her snacking on some cotton candy watching Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime or catching up on all the latest reality TV.

Influencer & Brand Shout-Out: @anima.iris

“And so all the algorithms that I work on at MIT are really focused on that lens. But it's also quite parallel to what we do at Parfait, trying to build machine learning algorithms that see people, that work with people to help build amazing products and experiences.”

Ifueko’s Word of 2023: Power

Tune in to learn more from Kendra and Ifueko!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.