Looty is the anonymous collective digitally capturing 3D representations of looted artifacts, repatriating them in the metaverse. For centuries, museums and private collections around the world have been home to thousands of stolen artworks. With many attempts to return these pieces failing, digital entrepreneur Chidi Nwaubani is taking a different approach: digital repatriation. ‘Relooting’ Art Nwaubani is the founder of Looty, whose anonymous collective visits museums to digitally capture 3D representations of looted artifacts. The artifacts are housed in virtual museums in the metaverse and repatriated to their places of
The Bean Path is a nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Nashlie Sephus, which is using tech to sow expertise, grow networks, and fertilize communities in Mississippi. The Makerspace, a 6,400-square-foot collaborative community workshop building, is the first step in solidifying Sephus’ vision of creating a science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) hub on 21 acres of previously neglected land. Identifying Blind Spots The Jackson, Mississippi native was introduced to engineering by her eighth-grade science teacher. After pursuing a degree in computer engineering, Sephus earned a PhD in electrical and
GPT detectors are biased against non-native English writers, a new study by researchers from Stanford University has found. From the Balenciaga Pope to fake Trump arrest photos, the spread of AI-generated content is driving the demand for effective ways to detect AI-made content. However, a recent study has found that GPT detectors often mistake non-native English writing for AI-generated text, while correctly identifying native English writing. In tests, the detectors were near-perfect at analyzing US college admission essays but incorrectly classified over half of the Test of English as a
Did you get duped by the ‘Balenciaga Pope’? Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have seen the viral image of Pope Francis wearing a stylish white puffer coat. It has been viewed a whopping 27.5 million times on this tweet alone. For many, this won’t have been their first encounter with misinformation, but it might have been their first with AI-generated imagery. Although it looks realistic, the ‘Balenciaga Pope’ was created using a tool called Midjourney. It is one of the most popular generative AI tools available, alongside
IT services firm Arthur Grand Technologies has come under scrutiny for a job advertisement requesting only white candidates apply. The company posted a job advertisement for a Business Analyst [Salesforce & Insurance Claims] on Indeed. However, the now-deleted advertisement included a note stating: “Only Born US Citizens [White] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX [Don’t share with candidates]”. The client was listed as IT services company HTC Global and Warren Buffet’s multinational conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway. The advertisement has since been deleted. Arthur Grand Technologies released
Last week, notable tech figures, including Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and politician Andrew Yang, signed an open letter by Future of Life calling for researchers to “pause the development of any AI systems more powerful than GPT-4 for 6 months.” Commotion ensued. Some people withdrew their signatures, others were exposed as fake, and AI experts worldwide criticized the letter’s ethos, claims, and demands. Here’s what you need to know. What’s so special about GPT-4? In an interview on March 15, OpenAI’s chief scientist said “”we are now reaching
Tech giant Meta is being sued by content moderators in Kenya, again. On Monday, 43 content moderators filed a lawsuit accusing Facebook’s parent company and two subcontractors, Sama and Majorel of ‘unlawful redundancy’ and discriminatory hiring practices. Meta had contracted Kenya-based firm Sama to moderate Facebook content in eastern and southern Africa. However, Sama closed its content moderation arm in January and announced it would be laying off 260 content moderators when its contract with Meta ends on March 31. The suit claims that redundancy notices were not issued and that Meta and Sama
When Olivia Hylton graduated from the University of Cambridge, she found herself struggling to make friends as an adult in a post-pandemic world. The 26-year-old spoke to POCIT about creating a meet-up app to empower Black women to make friends anywhere they go. Sistren is a digital platform that empowers users to make connections based on interests and proximity, with users able to create a profile, host events, and reach out to others that are local to them via the user directory. Hylton, who had never considered becoming an entrepreneur
Ernst & Young (EY) Metaverse Lab has announced that it will showcase Ancestral Archives, an interactive AI-enabled art installation created by artist-in-residence Josie Williams to spotlight the work of historic Black leaders. The EY Metaverse Lab program brings together artists and engineers to explore some of the world’s most challenging issues. For example, Williams is a creative and ‘afro-futurist’ working to combat bias and social injustice. Developed in collaboration with EY Metaverse Lab and NEW INC, the metaverse art installation will leverage Williams’ digital experience to showcase how AI and the metaverse can
How educational companies like Teachers Pay Teachers and Pearson are using tech to help tackle racial inequalities in education. Historically, the tech world has often failed to fix the systemic racial inequalities faced by people of color. Because the tech sector has become a significant driver of economic advancement and social equity, advocacy groups have begun to inquire about its contribution to racial equity on a large scale. At the height of the pandemic, individuals and businesses heavily relied on the influence of technology to overcome the challenges presented by
