Black Lives Matter (BLM) co-founder Opal Tometi has urged the tech sector to take robust action against perpetuating racism in systems such as facial recognition. “A lot of the algorithms, a lot of the data is racist,” U.S. activist Tometi, who co-founded BLM in 2013, told Reuters on the sidelines of Lisbon’s Web Summit. “We need tech to truly understand every way it (racism) shows up in the technologies they are developing,” she said. Her comments come just a day after Facebook announced it was shutting down its facial recognition
Facebook is planning to shut down its face-recognition system and delete faceprints of more than 1 billion people. At the present moment – more than a third of Facebook’s daily active users have opted to have their faces recognized by the social network’s system. That’s about 640 million people. But according to AP – it recently began scaling back its use of facial recognition after introducing it more than a decade ago. The move comes years after organizations and people of color complained about how problematic AI and facial recognition
Byron Allen, the 1980s comedian-turned-media-mogul, aims to acquire Tegna Inc in an $8 billion deal. The news comes months after it was reported that Allen’s Weather Channel’s business had taken a hit due to the pandemic as the TV advertising dried up, leading to piling debt load. Tegna, formerly owned by Gannett Co Inc, is a chain of 64 TV and radio stations that span 50 markets across the U.S. The deal could significantly boost Allen Media Group, which has amassed 33 local TV network affiliate stations. Allen — who came to
Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. is pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence robots and is reportedly launching touch sensitivity with two new sensors it has created. They include a high-resolution robot fingertip sensor called DIGIT and a thin and replaceable robotic “skin,” known as ReSkin. DIGIT was first released in 2020 as an open-source design; it uses a tiny camera pointed at the pads to produce a detailed image of the touched item. While Reskin can help AI robots to discern information such as an object’s texture, weight, temperature, and state. According
Startup Showdown is a unique opportunity for early-stage startups to present to well-known investors and innovators in the tech ecosystem as they look to take their company to the next level. All finalists will get the chance to pitch to VC investors but only one startup founder will walk away with $120,000 to expand their business. Hosted monthly by Panoramic Ventures, there are six open application periods and 12 events each year. September’s ‘showdown’ will be hosted live in Miami on Thursday and broadcast globally as a fully hybrid event. “Startup
Create Lab Ventures has teamed up with Trill or Not Trill to launch the world’s first artificial intelligence Afro-Latina, A. I robot, who made her debut at school systems worldwide on Monday. C.L.Ai.R.A was first introduced through Trill or Not Trill; a Black founded institution to provide innovative strategies and solutions that speak “to the culture.” Founders Jeff Dess and Lenny Williams joined forces with a social venture – Creat Lab Ventures – to continue their mission of providing underserved communities with the resources and skills needed to thrive in the media and
A group of tech and diversity pioneers is calling for robust action to be taken as Facebook’s facial recognition software mistakenly labeled a video featuring Black men as “about primates.” Marcel Hedman, the founder of A. I group Nural Research, a company that explores how artificial intelligence is tackling global challenges, described the long-standing issue as a “multi-layered” problem that can “definitely be solved.” Mr. Hedman, 22, based in London, said: “There was definitely no shock when I heard about the Facebook incident, and I think the reason why is
Elise Smith is leading the way in developing more conscious leaders in the workplace. She is the co-founder of Praxis Labs, a company that has created a virtual-reality-based platform that allows users to take on identities of different racial and gender backgrounds. Their mission, to help employees and leaders to change their perspectives over time by virtually stepping into the shoes of others. Elise joins the small list of Black women in the U.S to have raised more than $1 million for a venture-backed business. We had the pleasure of
In the tech industry, less than 5% of the workforce is African-American, and we know the tech sector has a long way to go in fixing diversity issues. The following list is a short intro to just some of the Black Product Designers who are flourishing in Silicon Valley, the corporate world and beyond. They are creating incredible experiences, invaluable products, and are supporting the next generation of designers. Mariam Braimah Mariam is a Product Designer at Netflix. She is also the founder of Kimoyo Fellowship, a design program teaching the skills
Technology is increasingly integrating into our daily lives at a breakneck pace. Although we love the latest apps and enjoy the ability to freely express ourselves online, we must also contend with companies using discriminatory algorithms against the vulnerable, “super spreaders” threatening our democracy with misinformation, and broadband providers charging outrageous prices and fees (even data caps, and yes, even during a pandemic). These enormous challenges have already sparked a debate about what role technology, and therefore Big Tech, should have in our communities. We’ve also seen how the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacts people of color
