Breaking the Pattern: Women in Tech Explore What’s Possible With AI

At Pace University’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, finding new ways to explore how technology fits into our lives is an almost daily occurrence. So, for Seidenberg, what does it mean to break patterns with AI? How can we use it as a tool to challenge familiar ways of doing things while being thoughtful about what the impact is and what comes next?

A recent event called Break the Pattern with AI, an International Women’s Day celebration held at Pace’s New York City Campus, explored those questions and centered on the participants’ personal interpretations of the topic. Organized to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026 by Seidenberg and the Pace AI Lab alongside Women Techmakers, Pace’s Google Developers Group on Campus, and Women in Tech Club, the all-day event brought together students, faculty, and technology professionals, including speakers from organizations such as Google, Capgemini, and JPMorgan, to consider AI from a variety of perspectives.

Through career and technical discussions, student lightning talks, emerging technology demonstrations, and even a technology-integrated fashion show, women working and studying in technology shared their experiences while exploring AI’s growing influence on careers, creativity, ethics, and everyday life. Throughout these activities and conversations, the event became a space to exchange ideas, learn from one another, and consider how future technologists can play an active role in shaping how AI is used.

For Sarah Lin ’19, adjunct professor of computer science at Seidenberg and faculty affiliate at the Pace AI Lab, the event made for a memorable experience.

“Honestly, one of the more energizing days I've had this semester,” Lin said. “The mix worked really well. Panels that got into the hard questions, lightning talks by students who absolutely held their own, and a Meta Glasses demo that had people huddled around it the whole break.”

Being Intentional About AI

Lin participated in The Developer’s Future: Navigating Careers in the Age of AI, a panel focused on what a rapidly changing technological landscape means for current and future developers. Her perspective centered on an idea she calls “Break the Pattern with Intentional AI,” which is basically an approach that explores how we learn, teach, and work with AI on purpose rather than simply adopting the technology by default.

“Ethical AI use looks like disclosure, intent, and accountability to me. Disclosure, being honest about where AI was involved. Intent, asking whether you're using it to go further or to avoid going at all. And accountability, being willing to stand behind the output as if it were fully yours, because in a professional context, it is. It's a habit you build decision by decision.”

Students also engaged in the conversation through a series of five-minute lightning talks centered on their own interpretations of “Break the Pattern with AI.” Selected presenters received coaching from Marie-France Han of JustWorks NYC as they prepared to share projects, initiatives, and ideas with the event’s audience.

This format gave students a chance to learn from professionals and faculty members while also adding their own voices to the conversation—building communication skills and confidence while challenging them to think critically and develop their own ideas about the topic.

Christelle Scharff, PhD, director of Pace’s AI Lab and professor of computer science in the Seidenberg School, added that “this event truly reflected the power of community. Students, faculty, staff, and our partners came together to create a space where we could learn from one another, celebrate women in technology, and explore how we can shape the future of AI together.”

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Modeling New Possibilities

One of the event’s highlights was the technology-integrated fashion show, where patterns generated with the help of Dr. Scharff’s machine learning process were transformed into wax-printed clothing and accessories.

Lin participated in the show herself, moving from a conversation about responsible AI use to a creative demonstration of the technology in action—with a particular emphasis on using AI as a collaborative tool, rather than replacing the human creator.

“I also walked in the fashion show, which was such a fun counterweight to the panel,” she said. “Same conversation, totally different register. Instead of talking about intentional AI, we were wearing it. The wax-print patterns generated for the show were a great example of AI as a creative collaborator rather than a replacement and stepping into that as a participant made the throughline of the day click for me.”

That throughline connected the event’s many different pieces: students finding their voices, women in technology sharing what they have learned, and a community exploring new tools together rather than simply reacting to them.

A big thank you to all speakers who were involved in IWD 2026.