The Mall of America is facing backlash following the implementation of its new facial recognition technology. The use of the technology has raised privacy concerns among lawmakers, civil liberties advocates, and the general public. Concerns Over Privacy and Misuse Minnesota State Senators Eric Lucero (Republican) and Omar Fateh (Democrat) have united in urging the Mall of America to halt its facial recognition operations. “Public policy concerns surrounding privacy rights and facial recognition technologies have yet to be resolved, including the high risks of abuse, data breaches, identity theft, liability and
Operation HOPE and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have launched an AI Ethics Council to help ensure marginalized poplations and people of color are included in the AI developments. The announcement comes amid criticisms of OpenAI, Meta, and other major players in the AI space lacking diversity on their boards and decision-making bodies. A Historic Partnership According to a press release, OpenAI’s partnership with Operation HOPE, a leading nonprofit dedcated to financial literacy for underserved communities, began with a listening tour at Clark Atlanta University in spring 2024. During this tour,
Earlybird AI, a B2B startup that assists job seekers using innovative multilingual, voice-first AI technology, has raised £625,000 ($800,000) in pre-seed funding. The investment comes from diverse backers, including Google, Resolution Ventures, and Ada Ventures. Tackling Unemployment With AI Earlybird AI addresses a pressing issue: nearly 11 million people in the UK are unemployed, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.4% between February and April 2024. Founded by Claudine Adeyemi-Adams and Boris Bambo, the platform improves employment support by directly engaging participants through simulated voice-powered connections. Adeyemi-Adams, who experienced homelessness
The world’s first artificial intelligence beauty pageant from has crowned its inaugural winner, Kenza Layli from Morocco. The competition, organized by the World AI Creator Awards, showcased AI-generated models vying for the title of Miss AI. Layli, an AI-generated activist and influencer, won from a pool of over 1,500 contestants, winning a prize package worth over $13,000. AI Influencer Kenza Layli Layli, known for engaging content and activism, has over 193,000 Instagram followers. Her digital persona is dedicated to empowering women in Morocco and the Middle East. Her creator, Meriam
DeCarlos Love has been named CEO of Thrive AI Health, a new AI health startup funded by OpenAI Startup Fund and Thrive Global. Writing for TIME, Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, and Arianna Huffington, the founder of Huffington Post and Thrive Global, explained that Thrive AI Health will offer a hyper-personalized AI health coach. Thrive AI Health Thrive AI Health aims to build AI-powered assistant tech to democratize access to expert-level health coaching to improve health outcomes. The startup will use generative AI to hyper-personalize and scale behavior change
Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has unveiled plans to establish research centers for emerging technologies across the country’s six geopolitical zones. The technologies include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain, aimed to build a technology research ecosystem. Fostering Innovation and Development Kashifu Inuwa, Director General of NITDA, announced the initiative at the IoT West Africa Conference held in Lagos. Represented by Aristotle Onumo, NITDA’s Director of Corporate Planning and Strategy, Inuwa emphasized that the new research centers align with the agency’s mission to support technological
AI and satellite imagery are being used to fight spatial apartheid in South Africa, exposing stark inequalities and driving systemic change. According to MIT Technology Review, Raesetje Sefala, a 28-year-old researcher from Limpopo, South Africa, is at the forefront of using AI and satellite imagery to combat spatial apartheid. Growing up in a township, Sefala witnessed firsthand the disparities between Black townships and affluent white neighborhoods. Now, she’s using cutting-edge technology to address these injustices. Unearthing Spatial Inequities In collaboration with computer scientists Nyalleng Moorosi and Timnit Gebru at the
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced an investment to enhance diversity and inclusion within the artificial intelligence (AI) research community. The NSF has allocated $10 million in grants to seven innovative projects in collaboration with the Departments of Homeland Security, Agriculture, Defense, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. These initiatives aim to strengthen AI research and education at minority-serving institutions (MSIs), including historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). A Diverse AI Research Community The new round of ExpandAI awards is a strategic move to cultivate a
Morgan Freeman recently addressed a viral TikTok video that misused his voice using artificial intelligence (AI). The video, which garnered significant attention, was created by a user named “Justine’s Camera Roll” and was later reshared on X (formerly known as Twitter) by “JahelisWasHere.” With 16.5 million views, the video falsely appeared to feature Freeman narrating a vacation clip. Freeman, however, took to X to clarify that he had no involvement and labeled the video a “scam.” Viral AI Video Sparks Controversy The controversial TikTok video starts with what seems to
TestParty, a Black-led, AI-driven software compliance company, has raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Harlem Capital and the Urban Innovation Fund. Founded in March 2023 by Michael Bervell and Jason Tan, TestParty helps businesses automatically rewrite source code to comply with global digital accessibility regulations. Making websites more accessible Currently, nearly all popular websites fail to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), leaving millions of people who rely on assistive devices unable to engage with the digital world. TestParty aims to bridge this gap by
