Miriah Peterson builds data infrastructure for trustworthy AI

Miriah Peterson, a staff data engineer and technology leader in Saratoga Springs, Utah, is building tools and data systems meant to help AI operate safely and accurately. Her work at Haikei Labs, along with her community roles in Utah’s data and MLOps ecosystems, highlights the growing demand for reliable AI infrastructure.

Why it matters: - AI systems are only as reliable as the data infrastructure behind them, and Peterson’s work targets that layer directly. - Haikei Labs is developing controls intended to help engineers and AI practitioners prevent unauthorized AI actions. - Her focus on context infrastructure reflects a broader shift toward safer, more governable AI deployment.

What happened: - Miriah Peterson is a data engineer and technology leader based in Saratoga Springs, Utah. - Peterson is the founder and CEO of Haikei Labs. - Influential Women spotlighted Peterson for her work in data infrastructure, AI, and community advocacy. - Peterson has spent more than a decade working on scalable data infrastructure for business operations, production software services, and AI systems.

The details: - Peterson’s work centers on reliable, secure, and efficient data platforms that support critical business functions and data-driven decisions. - Haikei Labs is building tools and guardrails for engineers and AI practitioners. - Those tools are designed to give teams more control over AI behavior and reduce the risk of unauthorized actions. - Peterson earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Brigham Young University before moving into software engineering and data infrastructure. - Her background includes cloud applications, software development, and production-ready systems. - Peterson said building real systems offers richer experience than pursuing a master’s degree in computer science. - Peterson credits mentorship and a broader software community with helping shape her career. - She encourages young women entering technology to expect some isolation, ask questions, and stay with work they enjoy and do well. - Peterson sees a challenge in learning the fundamentals and reasoning behind AI when many businesses undervalue that knowledge and provide little support for upskilling on the job. - She also sees growing demand for subject matter experts in distributed systems, databases, networking, and architecture. - Peterson says her values include integrity in data accuracy and validation, humility in disagreement, and holding strong opinions loosely as technology changes.

Between the lines: - Peterson’s path reflects a practical, systems-first approach to AI rather than a credentials-first one. - Her emphasis on accuracy and validation suggests that AI trust is increasingly becoming an infrastructure problem, not just a model problem. - Her community work through meetup organizing points to a talent pipeline strategy as much as a professional interest. - Fluent in English and Spanish, Peterson also brings bilingual reach to her education and advocacy work.

What's next: - Peterson will continue building tools at Haikei Labs aimed at safer AI operations. - She will also keep organizing for MLOps and AI Utah and the Utah Data Engineering Meetup through her nonprofit, The Forge Foundation. - Her broader focus remains on helping current and aspiring technologists grow while advancing responsible uses of data and AI.

The bottom line: - Peterson is positioning trustworthy data infrastructure as a core requirement for the next generation of AI systems. - Her mix of engineering experience, startup leadership, and community engagement places her at the intersection of technical reliability and responsible AI adoption.