“If not me, then who?”

This question has shaped every step of my career. As the first in my family to pursue a PhD, I carry the weight of responsibility and possibility. I have seen how technology can transform lives, but I have also seen how systems fail the people who need them most. Artificial intelligence is changing healthcare, finance, and education. It has the potential to improve patient outcomes, expand access, and create solutions that once seemed impossible. Without ethical oversight, transparency, and accountability, it can reinforce biases and deepen inequities.

I choose to be part of the solution because I have seen how difficult it is to navigate healthcare. For eight years, I worked as a physical therapist assistant in hospitals, outpatient clinics, and home health. Too often, I watched patients struggle to get the care they needed. I saw concerns dismissed, pain ignored, and treatment delayed. I remember a patient who spent months fighting for a diagnosis because their symptoms were not taken seriously. That moment reinforced what I already knew. Bias in healthcare is real, and it has life-or-death consequences. Artificial intelligence is already shaping decisions about who receives treatment and who is overlooked. Without safeguards, these systems will continue the same failures.

The future is built by those who refuse to wait. Change happens when people challenge broken systems and push for better solutions. Whatever field you are in, whatever change you want to see, the time to act is now. If not you, then who? If not now, then when?

Connect with Kate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katemariecarter/

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