This Week in Tech, Race, and Gender - DINT 133

A top tech titan denounces Elon Musk. The FTC cracks down on AI companies’ false diversity claims. And Black-owned Gig Wage rises from the ashes of a partner’s bankruptcy.

Dec 07, 2024

Turns out it’s not okay to say your facial recognition tool is free of racial and gender bias. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued facial recognition vendor IntelliVision with a consent order to cease promoting its product as bias-free. Reason: The company has no proof this claim is true.

This isn’t the FTC’s first facial recognition action. Last December it banned Rite Aid from using facial recognition technology. The company misidentified shoplifers and often those misidentified were Black of Hispanic people.

AI equality expert Dr. Joy Buolamwini sheds light on the topic.

“It’s not that we shouldn’t be proactive and we shouldn’t try, but we should also understand that given how much this technology is proliferating, we have to be able to create an ecosystem and a process that allows us to surface these harms as they’re coming,” said Buolamwini in an interview with Business Insider.

The FTC is paying attention and doing its part to protect consumers from the harms of facial recognition.

More news at the intersection of tech, race, and gender

Bertrand Saint-Preux, tech industry insider, penned an impressive guide for Black newcomers to the tech industry. (BuiltIn)

Black tech startup Mixtroz is set to close down operations after 14 years at the forefront of networking apps. (BhamNow.com)

A new AI model, called Chameleon, creates a digital mask over photos that prevents facial recognition systems from scanning the user’s face. (Gadgets360.com)

Kumba Senaar breaks down the real-world effects of AI without guardrails.

Black creators get credit for trail-blazing work to diversify the influencer space.

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Former ‘bros’ Sam Altman and Elon Musk fall out of favor with each other. Altman made several comments about Musk during this week’s Dealbook Summit from the New York Times.

“I thought what Elon was doing was absolutely incredible for the world, and I have different feelings about him now, but I’m glad he exists,” Altman said

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Black-owned and founded Gig Wage recovers from the Synapse/Evolve Bank debacle to win a new round of funding from Discover, Motley Fool, and Chartline Capital Partners, totaling $8.25 million. (Dallas Innovates)