From AI evangelist to strategist: How Dr Ayesha Khanna is helping people navigate the AI era

As part of Her World’s Women of The Year celebration, the Her World Hello Possibilities award is presented in collaboration with Singtel and recognises inspirational female game changers who have made it their business to improve the lives of women and society at large through their company’s impact, creativity and clever use of technology.

Eight years ago, Ayesha Khanna set up Addo AI, an AI advisory and incubator designed to help corporations, governments, and start-ups use AI to improve their services. Today, with the explosion of this technology, the landscape has changed.

“It’s fascinating. We’ve gone from explaining what AI is to helping people navigate a world where it’s everywhere. When I co-founded Addo AI, we were evangelists. Now we’re interpreters and architects. The explosion isn’t just about ChatGPT going viral; it’s about AI becoming personal. Everyone suddenly has a relationship with AI, whether as a writing assistant, photo editor, or coding companion.”

It’s an exciting time to be in AI, and this is something Ayesha is wholeheartedly on board with. Three years ago, her clients were asking whether they should start using AI, but now the conversation is more about strategy, governance frameworks, and ethical use of data. “We’ve moved past ‘Will AI work?’ to ‘How do we make AI work for us?’ and ‘How do we use AI responsibly?’ That’s a fundamentally different conversation.”

Making AI accessible for women and mid-career professionals

It’s a very different world from when she first started working in the technology industry, and her focus has evolved accordingly. After a decade of running 21st Century Girls, her charity encouraging girls to get into tech, she has now launched a new education company called Amplify, which provides AI courses for business leaders across industries. It also prioritises mid-career women, offering scholarships to support their participation. 

“Traditional tech pipelines exclude people with caregiving responsibilities (children, elderly parents, even pets) by requiring endless hours,” she explains. “We need flexible learning that fits real life, offers a cohort-based community, and focuses on practical applications. Mid-career professionals don’t need to become engineers; they need strategic AI literacy to lead effectively.”

Through mentoring, she’s also noticed a shift in the way that young women now approach tech differently. “They don’t carry the baggage of ‘tech is for boys.’ They just dive in.” She recalls a 19-year-old mentee showing her AI-created study buddies. “She wasn’t impressed by the technology — she focused on the outcome. Their generational fearlessness teaches me to stop overcomplicating AI. They also spot its limitations instantly, saying things like, ‘this is biased’ or ‘this doesn’t represent me.’ Their clarity is refreshing.”

Choosing possibility over comfort

Fearlessness has been a driving force in her career, but Ayesha clarifies that it doesn’t mean feeling no fear. “Fearlessness pushed me to say yes when I was the only woman in the room or a complete outsider. It wasn’t easy, but each time I chose possibility over comfort, my world expanded.”

She stresses that people — especially women — can be brave and scared at the same time. “Fear of failure isn’t the enemy. It signals that you’re doing something that matters.” She openly shares the sleepless nights before launching her company and her doubts about AI’s trajectory. “I love Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer’s question: ‘Is it a tragedy or an inconvenience?’ Most failures are inconveniences dressed up as tragedies. Missing a deadline, losing a client, a project flopping — these aren’t life-ending events.”

Failure can also be a catalyst for positive change. Ayesha recalls a time when they lost a major bid and her initial thought was to blame the competitor or the timing. Instead, they did a post-mortem. “What had we missed? Where did our proposal fall short? The introspection was painful but clarifying,” she recalls. “We sharpened our differentiation, stopped assuming, and started asking better questions. And we won the next ones.”

When it comes time to recharge, Ayesha intentionally keeps her support network diverse. “My WhatsApp fitness group reminds me that not everything needs to be optimized. My C-suite friends understand leadership pressure, while my school friends and cousins keep me grounded. They knew me before AI and aren’t impressed by jargon. My dad is my sounding board; he asks thoughtful questions that cut through complexity.” She also advocates personal mindfulness, taking time for meditation and listening to podcasts on the mind-body connection. She isn’t afraid to ask for help. “Different people in my tribe solve different puzzles. The key is knowing who has which piece and not being too proud to ask for it.”

PHOTOGRAPHY & ART DIRECTION Shawn Paul Tan
STYLING Cheryl Chan
HAIR & MAKEUP Sveta/Subarbs Studio
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