Big tech’s algorithms are not color blind

But first, here’s your slowly improving pandemic anniversary year in review in Haiku

Well, it’s been a year.
Happy anniversary 
to your sourdough

starter, unfinished
screenplay, or quilting projects!
Raise a glass to your

pandemic coping
skills, however imperfect
you may be tempted

to believe they were.
This time next year will be the
anniversary

Of the beauty we
brought as we tiptoed into
a world shaped anew

Take a well-earned break this weekend.

Ellen McGirt
@ellmcgirt
Ellen.McGirt@fortune.com

In Brief

Three years ago, documentary filmmaker Shalini Kantayya says she “didn’t really know what an algorithm was.”

But having immersed herself in the fast-paced world of artificial intelligence as part of her latest film, Coded Bias, Kantayya has come to understand the technology’s immense power—a power that can appear unassuming to those who don’t follow the nitty-gritty world of the software industry. The same underlying machine learning technology that companies like Google and Facebook use to “predict” which online ads you’ll click, also enables cameras to “predict” features like the race and gender of consumers.

Kantayya’s documentary, now streaming on Netflix and PBS, explores the problems that can occur when machine learning meets society. The documentary highlights the pioneering work of A.I. researchers like Joy Buolamwini and their work auditing facial recognition systems and related machine learning technology, discovering how the software works better on white males than women and people of color.

She says was shocked to learn that “These systems have not been vetted for racial bias or gender bias,” prior to the researchers’ work receiving widespread acclaim. The realization was eye-opening for Kantayyao, helping her understand A.I.’s rapid rise and increased prevalence in the world—a technology onslaught that’s so sudden, regulators haven’t been able to catch up.

“We are living in an era of A.I.,” Kantayya says. But, she likens A.I’s current boom to “the era of the automobile before the invention of the seatbelt.”  

One of Kantayya’s biggest concerns is the rush by companies to debut A.I. systems before they have been thoroughly vetted. In her view, these companies are putting profits ahead of public safety.  

“It’s like having pharmacy pills without warning labels on the products,” Kantayya says.

And while A.I. researchers like Buolamwini have earned praise for their work, they also face significant setbacks. For instance, A.I. researcher Timnit Gebru, who collaborated with Buolamwini on the landmark “Gender Shades” paper and is also spotlighted in the documentary, was recently ousted by Google amid allegations that the search giant was trying to prevent the publication of her research related to the ethics of developing A.I. language systems. Google has disputed Gebru’s claims.

Kantayya is hopeful though. She cites recent decisions by Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon to stop selling facial-recognition technology to law enforcement as a positive step. (While Microsoft and Amazon said they would halt the sale of the software, IBM said it would exit the entire facial recognition business).

The societal reckoning over systemic racism over the past year could encourage (and force, if regulators get involved) tech giants to take ethical concerns about the use of A.I. seriously.

“I think we actually have a moonshot moment to push for greater ethics and transparency in the technology that will define the future,” Kantayya says.

Jonathan Vanian 
@JonathanVanian
jonathan.vanian@fortune.com

On Point

Anti-Asian hate crime bill passes in the Senate The vote was a true bipartisan victory, passing 94 to...Sen. Josh Hawley [R-Missouri]. The bill creates a new department at the Justice Department tasked with investigating COVID-19-related hate crimes, among other provisions. The Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act was sponsored by New York Democratic Rep. Grace Meng and Hawaii Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono, but was supported early on by a range of Republican lawmakers. As the lone holdout, Hawley tweeted his objection to the bill thusly: "My big problem with Sen Hirono's bill that Senate voted on today is that it turns the federal government into the speech police — gives government sweeping authority to decide what counts as offensive speech and then monitor it.” The bill gained widespread momentum after the shooting deaths of six Asian women who were targeted in Atlanta last month.
CNN

Bill granting statehood to Washington, D.C. unlikely to pass in the Senate Though it did clear the House yesterday in a 216 to 208 vote. Statehood is a long-standing Democratic-promise and would establish a 51st state with a new and poignant "D.C" in its name: Washington, Douglass Commonwealth — named in honor of civil rights trailblazer Frederick Douglass. While the National Mall, Capitol Hill, and the White House would remain under congressional control, the new state, if approved, would have two Senators, and one representative serving some 700,000 constituents. The House has passed this measure before, and despite a closer vote yet to come in the Senate, it would be a squeaker at best.
New York Times

The Department of Justice opens investigation into policing practices in Minneapolis The “pattern or practice” investigation was announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland the day after the Chauvin trial verdict. The investigation will seek to determine patterns of excessive force, discriminatory conduct, and assess how the department treats people with behavioral disabilities. Garland began his statement by acknowledging the jury’s guilty verdict. "I know such wounds have deep roots," he said. "And that too many communities have experienced those wounds, firsthand. Yesterday's verdict in the state criminal trial does not address, potentially systemic policing issues in Minneapolis."
ABC News

ExecOnline closes $45 million Series D round, cementing its plans to help companies meet transformational inclusion goals The online education company was co-founded by CEO Stephen Bailey, along with Mark Ozer, Barry Goldberg, and Julia Alexander, and has a compelling theory of change that links equitable access to leadership development with systemic inclusion. (I’ll share more from a recent interview with Bailey at a later date.) At the heart of their offering is a key insight: That despite a lot of talk about inclusion, only certain types of people still tend to get the tap on the shoulder that gets them the experience they need to earn their next leadership role. In addition to leadership development curriculum, ExecOnline also uses data to help companies identify barriers, bottlenecks, and equity gaps. “New hybrid work models are kind of the place where most organizations are landing,” Bailey tells Afrotech. “Our number one goal is to be a tool that helps organizations power that future of work within their companies and really use it as an opportunity to improve equitable access to leadership.”
Afrotech

 

On background

Where diversity, dignity, and dreams go to die The pandemic may have slowed the spate of stories about the gauntlets young, aspirational creatives must face in the not-so-subtle indentured servitude that being an assistant to a Hollywood bigwig turns out to be, but the problem is still there. Enter the toxic workplace provided by “megaproducer” Scott Rudin, as described by his many, many former assistants. It’s… a lot. Also, if you ever run into Rudin, who has now been ushered offstage, don’t look him in the eye, don’t eat his snacks, don’t leave the room to use the restroom, don’t lose cell signal in case he needs you, do arrange to have your lifeless body removed if you faint from sheer exhaustion in front of him, and get very good at dodging objects, cleaning up shards of broken dishes…  (Also #PayUpHollywood)
Vulture

The racist history of Portland, Oregon, the whitest city in America Portland is more widely known for its progressive politics and Nike than its strange, violent past. But from its very founding as a racist utopia—Oregon was the only state to explicitly bar black people after it was founded – Portland has attempted to maintain overtly racist policies in employment, housing, lending and education. The result is a disgraceful mix of racial tension and inequity that white people would rather not talk about
The Atlantic

What we still get wrong about the 1960s Robert Greene II is a PhD level historian, editor, author and a lively member of the online discussion collective #Twitterstorians. In this thoughtful essay, he gently reminds us that barely fifty-plus years after the momentous year of 1968, we’re getting so much wrong about what actually happened and who we were then. We lost King and Kennedy that year, two men who were very different but were united on the notion that radical action needed to be taken to address poverty, violence, and racism. But we’ve turned them into empty vessels, sanitized and appropriate. “Public memory is how a nation remembers its past,” he writes. “By allowing King and Kennedy to become empty historical figures who stood for nothing controversial, we do a disservice to the causes they fought for.”
Religion and Politics

This edition of raceAhead was edited by Daniel Bentley.

Today's mood board

Gregory Edward Jacobs aka Shock G aka Humpty Hump died this week aged 57. Frontman for the pioneering hip hop group Digital Underground, Shock G was also a prolific producer including on early work by 2Pac.