From SIRI to self-driving cars, artificial intelligence is progressing rapidly. Will communities of color be prepared for AI related opportunities and challenges impacting their lives?
While no one can foresee exactly how this will play out, a mountain of evidence suggests that just like during past technological leaps, the fears —though realistic — can be managed through education and dialogue. The long-term impact of AI on communities of color is unknown. Conversations about AI are absent in the communities most directly affected by automation and other AI tools.
AIandYou.org is a U.S. based non-profit creating opportunities for under-represented communities of color to learn about Artificial Intelligence (AI). AIandYou.org is the platform for the science community and under-represented communities of color to have a dialogue about AI opportunities, and explore the challenges impacting everyday lives.
The AIandYou.org platform is created through:
- Community and educator Outreach
- Research specific to under-represented communities of color
- Resources for community leaders and educators
Participants include scientists, researchers and engineers from:
- LatinX in AI
- Black in AI
- Queer in AI
- Women and Machine Learning (WiML)
Leaders from these organizations participate in local, regional and national events to educate, inform and collaborate with the community.
AIandYou.org topics include:
- AI basics
- AI, automation and job preparation
- AI and unintended bias and solutions
- AI and medicine (diabetes, cancer, women’s health and others)
- AI and employment
- AI and disease
- AI and education
- AI and autonomous vehicles
- and many other topics
A portion of proceeds is donated to participating AI affinity groups (LatinX in AI, Black in AI, Women in Machine Learning (WiML), Queer in AI).
AIandYou.org is committed to serving as the primary resource for under-represented communities of color to learn about AI. All communities benefit from understanding more about AI and…
- its social good impact
- automation preparation
- long term challenges and opportunities
Create the Dialogue
AIandYou.org partners with national and local advocacy organizations to create community events including, but not limited to:
- Panel discussions and Q&A at National and Regional Conferences
- Roundtable conversations with AI leaders
- Social events creating an opportunity for community members to interact with AI leaders from throughout the world.
Advocacy partner outreach includes, but not limited to:
- AARP diversity & inclusion
- LeanIn Latinas
- LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens)
- NAACP
- National Urban League
- Rainbow PUSH Coalition
- UNIDOS US
- YWCA
Engage Influencers
AIandYou.org partners with diverse regional and national influencers to host panel discussions and networking events with community influencers and leaders. Events could include, but not limited to:
- Panel discussions and Q&A at National Conferences
- Roundtable conversations with AI leaders
- Social events creating an opportunity for community members to interact with AI leaders from throughout the world.
Influencer partner outreach includes, but not limited to:
- Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI)
- Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF)
- NALEO (National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials)
- National Conference of Mayors
- NBCSL (National Black Caucus of State Legislators)
- NHCSL (National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators)
Activate Educators
- Engage educators and influencers of the education system to highlight AI and Robotics teaching in classrooms
- Amplify AI and Robotics as a subset of computer science in classrooms
- Provide 3rd party AI-specific resources for educators to advance the inclusion of AI and Robotics in computer science curriculum
- Partner with national and regional organizations who are training teachers to bring computer science into classrooms to amplify the message
Resources helpful for communities of color coming soon.
Webinars
Webinars focused on key issues impacting communities of color coming soon.
Leadership
Susan Gonzales, Founder and CEO
Susan brings years of experience leading community engagement and communications for companies including Facebook, Comcast, Levi Strauss & Co. She has successfully created global community engagement and education programs involving national advocacy leaders and local community representatives. Susan has created a wide network of relationships with diverse community leaders throughout the U.S. and has created opportunities for the community through building strong partnerships. Susan led the first global town hall discussing AI and Diversity at Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) Montreal and was joined by the leaders of LatinX in AI, Black in AI, Women in Machine Learning (WiML) and Queer in AI. Click here to see Susan lead the first AI Diversity and Inclusion Town Hall in Montreal at the 2018 Neural-Processing Information Systems (NeurIPS) AI Global Conference.
Susan is a mentor to Latinx student and serves on the Board of community-based organizations. She is an outdoor enthusiast and lives in the Bay Area of California. She currently serves as Advisor Board Member to:
- Dave Goldberg and Sheryl Sandberg Foundation and LeanIn.org
- Eva Longoria Foundation
- The Latina Collective
Read the Forbes article on how Susan pitched her role at Facebook and why she is committed to AI education.
Read Huffington Post Why I Followed My Personal Calling, Even When It Led Away From A Great Job to learn about Susan's motivation.
Listen to The All Turtles Podcast Episode 51: Startup communication and outreach with Susan Gonzales
Board Members
Eva Longoria
Alicia Aguirre
Nicole DeLeon
Advisors
Advisors serving in individual capacities
Joaquin Quiñonero Candela
Director of Engineering for Applied Machine Learning, Facebook
Hal Daumé III
Professor of Computer Science, University of Maryland
Katherine Heller
Research Scientist, Google
Brandeis Marshall
Professor of Computer Science, Spelman College
Rick Sommer
Executive Director, Intercollegiate Studies, Stanford University
McKinsey & Company - Blacks in the fast-food, retail and customer-service
industries — especially those in "support roles" like cashiers, office clerks, stockroom laborers and call-center representatives — are most vulnerable to their jobs disappearing as companies invest more in labor-replacing technologies. In all, African-Americans are projected to lose a total of 132,000 jobs between now and 2030 due to automation, researchers said. Of course, other groups are also under threat. Latinos could see roughly a quarter of their jobs automated out of existence, according to McKinsey, while Asians, whites and others will also be affected.
Cities Struggle to Prepare African Americans, Latinos for the Future Workforce – U.S. News, 2019
A new study details how different cities are educating and training their populations most impacted by job automation. Despite city efforts to train their residents for workforce changes as automation threatens millions of jobs, they are struggling to equip their most vulnerable populations: African Americans and Latinos. In a recent study released by the African American Mayors Association, which represents more than 500 African American mayors across the U.S., researchers examined three cities – Gary, Indiana; Columbia, South Carolina; and Long Beach, California – to see how successful they've been in preparing students and workers to succeed in the changing labor market. What they found: the initiatives aren't effectively reaching the populations most likely to lose their jobs to automation.
A biased medical algorithm favored white people for health-care programs - MIT Technology Review, Oct 25, 2019
A study has highlighted the risks inherent in using historical data to train machine-learning algorithms to make predictions.
A PolicyLink blog post
Equity, Artificial Intelligence, and Transportation