From Frugal Innovation to Digital Inclusion

What drives a leader with 28 years of experience to the forefront of cloud innovation? For Ursula Koski, CTO for Nordics Partners at Amazon Web Services, it’s a journey rooted in unconventional experiences and a deep-seated commitment to human rights. Ursula's career, which she describes as an "outlier's path," has taught her that technology is a true enabler of growth and social impact. In a recent interview, she shared her insights on the intersection of AI, accessibility, and business strategy.

The power of frugal innovation

Ursula’s approach to technology was shaped early in her career while working in Ghana for a non-profit. With limited resources, she learned the art of frugal innovation—achieving maximum impact with minimal investment. This philosophy has guided her career, teaching her to build scalable systems and to be "very resourceful with technology."

She applies this same mindset to her current work, advocating for a pragmatic approach to quality assurance and security. While an enterprise might opt for extensive and costly testing, a leaner startup can benefit by focusing efforts on the most critical parts of the product. The key, she says, is to understand business risk and not go "overboard" with solutions that don't align with a company's core mission.

The business case for accessibility

Ursula is a staunch advocate for digital accessibility, driven by both personal experiences and a clear business rationale. She points out that 16% of the global population—a staggering one billion people—have a condition that hinders their ability to use technology. For any company, neglecting this market is a massive missed opportunity.

She provides compelling examples of how a lack of accessibility can lead to lost revenue:

• Temporary disabilities: Features that help people with permanent disabilities, such as voice controls, also assist those with temporary limitations, like a broken arm.
• Lost sales: She recounts a story of a visually impaired person who was unable to complete an online purchase and had to go to a physical store. For a business, this could mean hundreds or thousands of lost sales.

The solution, she says, lies in making accessibility a core part of the product development process from the beginning. Companies should leverage testing tools, adopt standardized frameworks like the European Accessibility Act, and avoid building everything from scratch. Just as the automotive industry learned that using a standardized male crash test dummy was dangerous and biased, tech companies must ensure their products are safe and usable for everyone.

AI as an enabler, not a replacement

Ursula is particularly excited about the potential of AI to accelerate the journey toward digital inclusion. She believes AI and machine learning are powerful enablers, already providing solutions like Alexa Routines that help autistic children with daily tasks or assist those with mobility issues.

The future will bring even more transformative applications. She highlights the potential of e-health, where AI tools can analyze speech patterns to help medical professionals identify early signs of depression. While these tools will never replace human expertise, they can provide a valuable "additional tool" in a professional’s toolbox.

However, she warns that this progress comes with a critical challenge: data bias. Because AI models are built on human-generated data, they often inherit our biases. Ursula stresses that it is an organization's responsibility to understand, test for, and actively work to mitigate these biases. She suggests using synthetic data to fill in gaps and ensure a more representative training set.

Building a resilient future: Embracing diversity

In Ursula's view, building secure and accessible technology requires a diverse workforce. She argues that having a "diversity of mind" allows teams to approach problems from different perspectives and uncover issues that a homogeneous team might miss. It’s about walking a mile in someone else's shoes and testing from a place of empathy. This is why she is so passionate about social equity advocacy groups, like Women Who Code and Riga Tech Girls, which are on the "front lines" of technology adoption.

The roundup

Ursula's journey from a technical developer to a CTO and human rights activist is a powerful testament to her core belief. She is a living example of how embracing unconventional paths and a commitment to fairness can lead to a more inclusive and equitable tech world for all.

Speakers in the episode

Ursula Koski

CTO at AWS & Chairwoman of the Board at TIVIA

Ursula Koski is a seasoned technology leader with over 28 years of experience in software development, cloud transformation, and digital innovation. As the CTO for Nordics Partners at Amazon Web Services (AWS), she works with partners, governments, and the European Commission to accelerate the technology industry's growth and strengthen Finland's position for digital talent and innovation.

Josh William Burmistre-Griffiths

Digital Marketing and Paid Ad Specialist

Josh William Burmistre-Griffiths works at TestDevLab, focusing on digital marketing and paid advertising across multiple platforms. His past experience working at agencies and unicorn startups has equipped Josh with the expertise to bring valuable digital marketing insights to Tech Effect.