A woman with South Asian heritage claimed she couldn’t make bookings through Airbnb due to AI being unable to match two images of her, increasing the concerns surrounding AI biases. Francesca Dias from Sydney couldn’t make an account with Airbnb because she failed its AI’s identity verification process, she told a panel on ABC’s Q+A. One of the ways Airbnb confirms the identity of users is by matching a photo from the user’s government ID – a passport or driver’s license – to a selfie the customer provides. Dias claimed
MM, a dating app that merges technology with real-life experiences, has raised £600K ($750K) in seed funding. The Dating App MM MM, launched in 2019, is a dating and events technology app merging AI with real-life events designed to help singles connect both in the app and in person. The company hosts events and experiences tailored for members to meet and network in person while doing the things they enjoy. MM is available to and has members from all races and genders but considers key cultural nuances within African, Caribbean,
Black women have long contributed to British history, culture, and life, but, like their American sisters, they do so in the face of racism and sexism. Black women’s experiences of microaggressions and discrimination mean they are more likely to experience mental health disorders than white women. They also have negative experiences of mental health care. Their treatment often involves law enforcement for Black women, with fewer opportunities for talking therapies. Black women are also over four times more likely to be involuntarily detained compared to other racial groups in Britain.
President Joe Biden has signed the first-ever AI Executive Order (EO), establishing new standards for AI safety and security. The EO aims to protect Americans’ privacy, advance equity and civil rights, and stand up for consumers and workers while promoting the US’ position as a leader in AI. This includes making it easier for AI experts and highly skilled professionals from other countries to migrate to the US. Streamlining Immigration for AI experts Included in the EO is a set of directives designed to boost the ability of immigrants with
Fei-Fei Li, the Stanford professor dubbed the “godmother of AI,” recently urged President Biden to aggressively fund more AI research and public projects. Unlike many of her industry peers, Li does not fear AI’s existential risks. Instead, she told Bloomberg it’s better to address the issues right here and right now before they escalate. The ‘godmother’ of AI Fei-Fei Li is a computer scientist, AI Researcher, professor at Stanford University, and Author of “The Worlds I See.” After moving from China to New Jersey at the age of 15, she
Clean energy company Husk Power Systems has raised $103 million in equity and debt to launch over 1,000 new solar minigrids, electrifying rural Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia communities. Solar mini-grids Husk Power Systems Husk Power is the leading rural energy services company in weak-grid and off-grid communities in Africa and Asia. The company was founded in 2008 to provide reliable power to rural communities and businesses from renewable energy sources at affordable prices. The company does this through solar minigrids – a set of small-scale electricity generators and energy
Some of the most high-profile AI chatbots generate responses that perpetuate false or debunked medical information about Black people, a new study has found. While large language models (LLMs) are being integrated into healthcare systems, these models may advance harmful, inaccurate race-based medicine. Perpetuating debunked race myths A study by some Stanford School of Medicine doctors assessed whether four AI chatbots responded with race-based medicine or misconceptions around race. They looked at OpenAI’s ChatGPT, OpenAI’s GPT-4, Google’s Bard, and Anthropic’s Claude. All four models used debunked race-based information when asked
Latimer, named after African-American inventor Lewis Latimer, is a new platform trying to make generative AI more inclusive. Nicknamed the Black GPT, Latimer is a new large language model (LLM) built to reflect the experience, culture, and history of Black and brown people more accurately. The platform recently announced new partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to help bring the inclusive tool to students, agencies, brands, and the general public. Tackling racial bias and erasure Many generative AI models amplify the bias, inaccuracy, and erasure of Black and
Black-owned beauty-tech company Myavana is using AI to provide personalized insights and hair regimens that work for women of color. Myavana is the brainchild of computer scientist Candace Mitchell Harris. Her natural hair journey led her to seek data-driven, intelligent hair care solutions everywhere, from the lab to the Metaverse. The Science of Hair Data reveals that Black consumers drive the global hair-care market, spending nine times more on hair-care products than other racial groups. Black women, in particular, spend about $1.7 billion annually on hair-care products. While studying computer
Michigan Central and Newlab have announced the Founder Fellowship, a Detroit-based program supporting a cohort of five climate tech founders from underrepresented backgrounds. A New Mobility Innovation District Michigan Central is Ford Motor Company’s new $1 billion mobility innovation district in Corktown, Detroit’s oldest neighborhood. The hub is part of Ford Motor Company’s vision to reshape the future of global mobility, working with key partners and suppliers and connecting to a broader network of city and regional assets and testing. Newlab, is a tech incubator founded to address societal needs
