Homage To Juliette Powell (1970–2025), A Pioneer in AI Ethics, Media, and Inclusive Innovation, By Dinis Guarda And The Ztudium Group At The Businessabc AI Global Summit 2025

Juliette Powell (1970–2025) was a pioneering media expert, tech ethicist, business advisor, and author. She co-authored The AI Dilemma and worked with organisations like the UN, Microsoft, and the World Economic Forum. The former Miss Canada and Columbia University graduate, Juliette, was scheduled to deliver a keynote on AI ethics and Responsible use of technology at the Businessabc AI Global Summit 2025. She passed away unexpectedly on June 3, 2025. This is a tribute from Dinis Guarda and the ztudium team.

“We are surrounded by real physical beings. We act as batteries to each other. So when one is down the other one's up” - Juliette Powell in Dinis Guarda YouTube podcast interview in 2023.

Juliette Powell, an influential media expert, tech ethicist, author, and speaker, passed away on 3 June 2025 at the age of 54 due to acute bacterial meningitis. Her sudden death has left a profound void in the worlds of technology, business, and social advocacy. 

Juliette Powell was to be a keynote speaker at the Businessabc AI Global Summit 2025 in London, an event dedicated to shape the global narrative around Artificial Intelligence through high-level participation from governments, academia, industry leaders, and digital innovators.

The keynote speech on "BUILDING AN AI HUMAN + BUSINESS CENTRIC BLUEPRINT," was to highlight her invaluable insights on AI, social justice, and the role of ethical governance in shaping the future of technology. Dinis Guarda, and his team at ztudium pay homage by remembering her golden thoughts and ideas on ensuring a human-centric development of AI.

“Stop thinking so transactionally and to start actually recognising that we as humans, ‘we're All in This Together’ we really are especially coming out of a global pandemic the realities of where the AI is going, how quickly it's going there, and how we have to tap into our Humanity now - if we don't want it to overpower us” - Juliette Powell.

A Journey From Beauty Pageants To AI Advocacy

Juliette Powell was an influential media expert, tech ethicist, author, and speaker. Born in Manhattan in 1970, Juliette moved to Montreal, Quebec, with her French-Canadian mother at the age of eight. In her youth, Juliette excelled in math and science and was an avid swimmer. 

Juliette became the first Black Canadian to win the Miss Canada title in 1989, subsequently representing Canada at the Miss Universe pageant that same year.

She studied Commerce at Vanier College before pursuing Finance and International Business at McGill University and Economics at the University of Toronto. Later, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Columbia University, graduating summa cum laude and becoming a member of Phi Beta Kappa. 

She famously stated, "Neither my mother nor my father had a high school education, but they insisted that I was not black or white, Canadian or American, French or English, Catholic or Jewish, but rather that I was blessed to be all of those things as a citizen of the world."

Following her reign as Miss Canada, Juliette shifted to the world of media. In 1992, she began her career as a VJ at MusiquePlus, a position she held until 1996 while simultaneously studying finance and business at McGill University. 

She then moved to Toronto, where she continued to grow her media career by hosting shows such as Electric Circus and French Kiss on MuchMusic.

“I was lucky enough to get into television at a very young age because I saw somebody being interviewed on television and it was a horrible interview and I thought oh my gosh okay I think I can actually do better than that and the television network seemed to agree even though I didn't have a degree in this space at all I had a vision of what could be done with live television and interestingly enough for me it really prepared me for the internet”, Juliette had told Dinis during the interview.

In 1999, Juliette founded Powell International Entertainment Inc. (PIE Inc.), a media and consulting firm that produced high-profile interviews and features with notable personalities, including Nelson Mandela, Steven Spielberg, Janet Jackson, and Sir Richard Branson.

She co-authored the media section for the UN Plan of Action for the World Conference Against Racism. She later consulted for prestigious institutions such as the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, and the World Bank. 

Her book, 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business Using Social Networking (2009), became an international success, translated into multiple languages. The book outlined the profound impact of social media on business, entrepreneurship, and personal influence.

“I didn't even realise that I could be taken seriously as an author but people like Jimmy Wales were kind enough to write the foreword for the book.”

She was a sought-after commentator on networks such as NBC, CNN, BBC, and Bloomberg, addressing pressing issues like privacy, cybersecurity, and algorithmic bias.

Juliette's work as a consultant and speaker took her to global forums, including the E-G8 Summit, a key offshoot of the G8 Summit, where she provided insight into the future of the internet and the implications of emerging technologies.

“You absolutely need digital infrastructure. If you don’t have digital infrastructure, then you can’t really participate in the personal data revolution. Once you have digital infrastructure, do you have access to it? The other thing that you need is data literacy. How many people do you know that do not work in tech actually have data literacy?”

In 2016, she delivered a TEDx Talk on unconscious bias, which garnered widespread acclaim for its powerful message about the need to challenge and address the biases inherent in society and technology. 

AI Dilemma and Responsible Innovation

Her academic journey culminated in a summa cum laude degree from Columbia University in Sociology, where she conducted research that became the foundation for her later work, including her book The AI Dilemma: 7 Principles for Responsible Technology (2023). 

"Just because we have AI doesn’t mean things are going to be frictionless now. That’s quite the opposite. Now, we are going to have to choose between 17 different organised lives that we live and decide which one really fits in the moment,” she told Dinis in the YouTube podcast interview.

Juliette Powell was also a faculty member at New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program. There, she taught courses that explored the intersection of media, technology, and ethics, influencing the next generation of innovators and thinkers.

Juliette's consultancy work also had a lasting impact on the way major organisations approached technology ethics. She worked with the likes of Microsoft, Warner Brothers, and the United Nations, advising them on how to integrate responsible innovation and governance into their operations.

“There is no real dedication right now to making computer Engineers responsible in the same way that a mechanical engineer would be responsible for what they're building and I think that's what we definitely need to develop but from this idea of “Do no harm” that we really couldn't enforce came up with the idea of intentional risk to humans and started thinking about what that potential calculus of intentional risk could be for anybody that's either developing AI or using AI or anybody in between.”

Legacy and personal impact

Beyond her professional achievements, Juliette was known for her magnetic personality, intellectual generosity, and ability to bring people together. She hosted “Gatherings”, fostering collaboration among innovators, including founders of Twitter, iRobot, and Alphabet.

Her dream was to expand ethical technology education for women of colour and ensure children grew up in safe, compassionate environments. She leaves behind a legacy of bridging technology with humanity, challenging systemic inequities, and inspiring future generations.

Juliette Powell’s passing is a profound loss, but her work continues to shape conversations on responsible AI, media ethics, and inclusive innovation. She will be deeply missed by her friends, colleagues, and her beloved dog, Tyra Banks.