Google’s Product Inclusion and Equity Team, led by Dominique Mungin, is working to ensure that the next generation of AI-driven image generation and recognition technologies does not perpetuate societal biases. Mungin, who has been at Google for 13 years, has worked on projects like the Monk Skin Tone Scale and Google’s Real Tone Tech. Now, her team has collaborated with Tonl, a stock photography company, to supply more diverse imagery for training machine learning models. In an interview with Tech Brew, Mungin admitted that skin tone challenges persist. An entire
Libbie Health, an AI-powered app that gives women of color tools to reduce anxiety, was announced the winner of this year’s Make It in Brooklyn pitch contest. Libbie Health The app was founded by behavioral health coach Colette Ellis in 2022 to address racial and cultural disparities in mental health care. It also aims to create positive health outcomes for women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and marginalized leaders. Ellis was trained in Emotional-Freedom Technique (EFT) tapping in 2013 and began building it into her client work. “If you’ve ever been in a situation where you smelled
An AI image creator, Playground AI, gave an Asian MIT graduate blue eyes and lighter skin when she asked it to turn her photo into a professional LinkedIn headshot. Rona Wang, who had majored in computer science at MIT, took to Twitter to share her surprise, adding to online debates about racial biases in generative AI. What happened? The Boston Globe reported that Wang uploaded an image of herself smiling and wearing a red MIT shirt to the platform, asking it to turn the image into a “professional” LinkedIn profile
The Washington Post has sparked controversy after publishing an article based on an “interview” with an AI Harriet Tubman. While seen by the creators as an innovative way to engage with history, many have labeled the move unethical and exploitative. AI Article Writer Gillian Brokell interviewed an AI version of American abolitionist and social activist Harriet Tubman using the online educator Khan Academy’s new AI learning tool Khanmigo. Khanmigo uses Chat4 technology to enable live chats with multiple simulated historical figures, such as Winston Churchill. “I was curious to see what would
The concerns about AI and biases have been a topic of conversation for some time. Black artists are among the creators finding an issue with the inaccurate results produced by AI image generators. The Concerns with AI Bias and Artists Senegalese artist Linda Dounia Rebeiz explored whether AI can see people of color in her new exhibition “In/Visible” for Feral File, an NFT marketplace. Featuring ten artists with the same goal; to shed light on the biases of AI and representing people of color. “The biases of AI, the biases
Several authors, such as Mona Awad, Paul Tremblay, Christopher Golden, Richard Kadrey, and Sarah Silverman, have filed lawsuits against OpenAI for unlawfully “ingesting” their books. The authors claim OpenAI breached copyright law by training ChatGPT on their novels without their permission. How ChatGPT ‘learns.’ ChatGPT, OpenAI’s artificial intelligence chatbot, skyrocketed in popularity following its release late last year. People mainly use it to compose essays, write emails, create creative stories, and get answers to questions about an extensive range of topics concisely and conversationally. Generative AI models like ChatGPT are
“AI… Meets… AI: An Exciting Tale of Connection and Adventure” is the #1 New Release in Children’s Computer Hardware and Robotics Books on Amazon following its publication last month. The enchanting children’s book features Addy, a curious and imaginative young Black girl, and Jaz, a learning AI, exploring the bustling city of Baltimore together. Author Amber Ivey, also known as “AI,” told POCIT that she created these characters to pave the way for a future where technology education is inclusive and every child feels empowered to shape the digital world,
The regulation and ethics of AI image generators have been a topic of conversation for several years, with EU lawmakers considering proposals for safeguards to address some of the issues. In March, more than 31,000 people signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause in AI research and development to answer questions about regulation and ethics. Recently, the free-to-use graphic design tool Canva came under fire after DEI Thought Partner Adriele Parker prompted its text-to-image app to generate a Black woman with Bantu knots. An error appeared and told
Co-founder of Flair AI, Mickey Friedman, has announced the company has generated thousands of composable human models in various poses to sell the target company’s beauty products. Friedman said they are helping to “speak to the audience’s diversity and reflect the target market.” Flair AI, founded in New York, is an AI design tool for branded content, allowing users to generate high-end product photography in minutes for CPG (consumer packaged goods) and beauty Brands. Friedman posted that companies can “target different demographics and represent your audience in marketing campaigns,” which had
Buzzfeed Inc (owners of Complex, HuffPost, Tasty, etc) told investors about its plans for AI-generated content. The company also outlined its plans for developing its Black, Asian, Latine identity-based brands to help corporate brands tap an “authentic voice.” BuzzFeed, founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III as an internet popularity contest, has been at the forefront of Internet culture for over a decade. This year, the platform launched its AI-powered content such as games and quizzes, with some success. But it plans to go further. During an investors event held
