Meta recently announced the formation of an AI advisory council, made up entirely of white men, sparking backlash amid the discourse around diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. The Composition And Role Of The AI Council This AI advisory council is distinct from Meta’s board of directors and its Oversight Board, which have more diverse gender and racial representation. Unlike these bodies, the AI council was not elected by shareholders and held no fiduciary duty. Meta told Bloomberg that the council would provide “insights and recommendations on technological advancements,
OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot shows racial bias when advising home buyers and renters, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) research has found. Today’s housing policies are shaped by a long history of discrimination from the government, banks, and private citizens. This history has created racial disparities in credit scores, access to mortgages and rentals, eviction rates, and persistent segregation in US cities. If widely used for housing recommendations, AI models that demonstrate racial bias could potentially worsen residential segregation in these cities. Racially biased housing advice Researcher Eric Liu from MIT examined
Colorado has become the first state in the US to enact comprehensive legislation regulating AI use in critical areas like employment, healthcare, and housing. From February 2026, affected businesses must provide information about their AI use and take “reasonable care” to protect citizens from algorithmic discrimination. “Laws that seek to prevent discrimination generally focus on prohibiting intentional discriminatory conduct,” said Governor Jared Polis, who signed Senate Bill 24-205 (SB205) on May 17, 2024. “Notably, this bill deviates from that practice by regulating the results of AI system use, regardless of intent.” Addressing Algorithmic Discrimination SB205
Donna Summer’s estate has reached a settlement with Kanye “Ye” West and Ty Dolla $ign over claims that they unlawfully used Summer’s classic hit “I Feel Love.” According to Rolling Stone, the settlement comes after the estate accused the artists of “blatant theft” in their song “Good (Don’t Die)” from the album Vultures 1. Legal Battle and Settlement The lawsuit, filed in February by Summer’s estate, alleged that West and Ty Dolla $ign, whose legal name is Tyrone Griffin Jr., copied significant portions of Summer’s iconic track without permission. The legal complaint detailed
Break Through Tech AI, the largest program of its kind in the U.S., aims to support college students from underrepresented backgrounds into top tech careers. Specifically, the program helps underrepresented groups, including lower-income, Latina and Black women and nonbinary students, gain the skills they need to get jobs in data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Expanding Access to Elite Tech Opportunities Hosted and supported by institutions such as MIT, UCLA, and Cornell Tech, Break Through Tech AI is free and focuses on students from public institutions and historically Black colleges.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is rapidly becoming a vital tool for U.S. microbusinesses, particularly among Black owners who are adopting these technologies at impressive rates. According to GoDaddy’s Venture Forward 2024 survey, approximately 50% of microbusiness operators have experimented with GenAI tools recently. This statistic is even more significant among young and Black microbusiness owners, who are 50% more likely to leverage GenAI compared to their white counterparts. A Tool for Leveling the Playing Field The Venture Forward survey highlights that 44% of micro businesses see GenAI as a game-changer, allowing
British legal tech company Definely has raised a $7 million (£5.6 million) Series A investment round to advance its GenAI proposition that helps draft, edit, and understand legal documents. Last year, the Microsoft- and Google-backed company released Vault. This tool leverages AI and OCR technology to analyze and extract key information and clauses from an organization’s internal contract repository. Vault then makes this information readily available to users directly within their documents, exactly when and where it’s needed. One Of The 50 Fastest-Growing Tech Companies In The UK Founded by two former
Backpack Healthcare, an online pediatric mental healthcare provider, has announced a $14 million Series A funding round. Backpack Healthcare Backpack Healthcare, formerly Youme Healthcare, is a tech company that offers an app and teletherapy services designed to provide accessible and inclusive mental health support for young individuals. Led by founder and CEO Hafeezah Muhammad, Backpack Healthcare aims to make a positive impact on the lives of children and adolescents struggling with mental health challenges. With studies finding that 1 in 6 children have a mental, emotional or behavioural health disorder, along with more than
Black-owned music tech startup AudioStrip has won grant funding from the British government’s ‘AI in the Music Industry‘ Innovate UK fund. AudioStrip AudioStrip is a free online tool musicians use to split vocals from the backing music in audio files. It uses AI and Deep Learning, trained on large music datasets, to give users the best results and allow them to separate music quickly. The website uses the music source separation results from research. It is intended to make the AI models easier to use for musicians without requiring them to have
Nigeria has launched its first multilingual Large Language Model (LLM), announced Minister Bosun Tijani of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy. The initiative took place following a comprehensive four-day AI workshop in Abuja. The multilingual LLM is developed with local AI firm Awarritech, global tech entity DataDotOrg, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the National Centre for AI and Robotics (NCAIR). Capitalizing on a Growing Market With predictions from Statista that the AI market could reach $890 millon in 2024 and expand to $8.75 billion by 2030, Nigeria’s investment
