Nonprofit Color of Change recently released its new tech agenda to ensure that new technology systems are put in place by Big Tech to aid Black neighborhoods.
Divided into six pillars, the agenda specifically calls for the regulation of AI to prevent oppression against BIPOC communities. To do so, the nonprofit called upon the government to work to ensure that the new technological tool is being used fairly and is equally accessible.
Color of Change’s report also provided methods for achieving tech equity, offering suggestions for how to implement the tech tools, build more community awareness, create the right policies as well as what corporate changes need to be made to prevent tech oppression.
The six pillars include an emphasis on clean digital access in Black communities, individual control of privacy laws, community control on new tech infrastructure and a stop to AI discrimination. The pillars also include regulations on Big Tech companies when it comes to worker’s rights and protection for Black creatives that have their work replicated by AI.
“Technology now shapes every part of our lives, from getting jobs and healthcare to accessing education and baking. But instead of lifting up Black communities, these systems too often discriminate against us,” said the Interim Executive Director of Color Of Change, Portia Allen-Kyle, per a press release. “That’s why we’re introducing a stronger Black Tech Agenda that does two vital things: protects our civil rights today and builds real economic power for our communities tomorrow.”
The latest agenda comes months after Color of Change raised the flag on AI-driven racial bias.
Previous reports have already drawn attention to the racial bias AI helps perpetuate, promoting racially discriminatory situations in simulations and holding up stereotypes.
The biases continued across different implementations of the technology.
In a MIT study, researchers found that, when simulated, the AI GPT-4 tool reduced its empathy levels by 2% to 15% when it detected that it was speaking to Black people.
Overall, when it was speaking to a poster who was white or whose race was unknown, it was 48% better at encouraging positive changes in behavior, signifying significant disparities in mental health treatment if it was implemented.
In their official release, Colors for Change emphasized these existing racial biases and the need for regulation.
“Without such enforcement, AI systems will no doubt perpetuate and worsen existing racial biases, leading to adverse impacts on Black communities and our society overall,” said the nonprofit. “In areas already marred by racial bias such as our criminal legal system, housing, and health care, AI tools should only be employed when stringent anti-discrimination safeguards are firmly established.”
