From Butterflies to Bias: Dr. Nici Sweaney on Building Responsible AI in Schools

In this episode Dan and Ray sit down with Dr. Nici (Nikki) Sweaney—founder of “AI Her Way,” gender equality advocate, and globally recognized AI consultant. After a fascinating career journey from butterfly ecology to statistics to AI, Nici now helps schools and organizations create ethical, responsible, and effective AI strategies. She shares her insights on responsible AI adoption, gender equity, bias, and how schools can proactively plan for an AI-driven future.

Follow Nici on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-nici-sweaney/ 

Nici's Ai Her Way website 
Book in a discovery call with Nici
Make an Inquiry about PD for your school: https://www.aiherway.com.au/professional-development 
Book Nici as a speaker https://www.aiherway.com.au/speaking-engagements

Nici's will be speaking at lots of events in March, if you'd like to hear more, and ask your own questions!

March 5 - Australian Retirement Trust live podcast recording, Brisbane
March 6 - Canon, online event for IWD
March 6 - National Press Club, "Women in Media Canberra Networking Night: Democracy under threat? Unpacking mis/disinformation in Australia" Canberra
March 7 - Powerful Steps, IWD Event, 'Empowering Women, Changing Lives', Sydney
March 13 - Hoyts, IWD Event, Advancing Women in the AI Era, Sydney
March 17 - Women in Data and Digital (Australian Public Service), Online event for IWD
March 25 - ARIA's Innovator Conference, Sydney
March 27 - Learning Environments Australia Conference, "Architecting Future Learning Environments with AI", Sydney

Key Topics & Takeaways

Nici’s Career Path: Ecology, Academia & AI

• How studying butterfly behavior and coding in R sparked her interest in data and algorithms.
• Transition from 17 years in academia to AI consulting, focusing on statistics, data analytics, and ethical tech.

The ‘Aha’ Moment with ChatGPT

• Discovering ChatGPT in late 2022 and realizing its massive potential for education—and society at large.
• Balancing excitement and existential questions (“What is the point of humanity?”) when first encountering generative AI.

Bias, Equity & Ethical AI

• How AI systems inherit the biases found in the internet’s data—and why that’s problematic for underrepresented groups.
• Why women’s perspectives (and other minority voices) are crucial in AI development and how current data sets often perpetuate stereotypes.\
• Nici's passion for closing the AI gender gap and practical steps schools can take.

Building AI Literacy & Culture in Schools

• The importance of having a written guideline (rather than a static policy) for AI use in schools.
• How to engage teachers and staff: start with small wins—solving real pain points such as lesson planning or admin tasks.
• Creating a “community of practice” so that staff share prompts, workflows, and best practices.

Parent and Community Involvement

• Addressing misconceptions and fears by informing families about AI’s capabilities, risks, and benefits.
• Why schools must proactively explain why they’re teaching AI skills—and how they're doing so responsibly.

Rethinking Assessment & Student Skills

• Moving beyond “fact recall” to deeper inquiry, collaboration, ethical reflection, and higher-order thinking.
• Teaching students how AI works (at a conceptual level) so they can use it responsibly and critically.
• Encouraging leadership traits like empathy, diversity of thought, and clear communication—assets for both human collaboration and AI prompting.

Global Perspectives & Data Sovereignty

• The challenges of relying on global tech giants for AI tools and data security.
• Understanding AI as a “private commodity,” not a universal public resource—what that means for Australian schools and beyond.

Practical Steps for School Leaders

• Survey staff to find out their AI familiarity, pain points, and training needs.
• Start with low-hanging fruit: use AI to streamline daily tasks, then build toward larger strategic workflows.
• Sustain momentum via ongoing PD, regular sharing sessions, and involving all stakeholders, including parents.