How many of you reading this use AI daily? If you’re thinking, “Not me,” think again...just about all of us do. From unlocking our phones with facial recognition to scrolling through social media, artificial intelligence is everywhere and only becoming more pervasive. It’s like having an invisible assistant that you didn’t ask for but can’t live without.
AI is also rapidly becoming part of our entertainment landscape — used in ways that at once surprise and deceive us. Kendrick Lamar might’ve been the first rapper to become the face of AI — literally and figuratively — with his 2022 music video “The Heart Part 5,” Lamar and director Dave Lee used AI as part of the song’s artistic statement.
Earlier this year, amid the Kendrick-Drake rap beef that had everyone in a chokehold, an AI-generated diss track using Lamar’s voice fooled many into believing it was the real thing, raising concerns about the darker side of AI and ethics in music production.
Beyond the use (or misuse) of AI in pop culture, there are a multitude of real-world problems with artificial intelligence. And if we don’t pay attention, we’ll continue to be the victims of societal biases. To start, generative AI is expected to exacerbate the racial wealth gap because Black workers are overrepresented in roles that AI is likely to replace. Facial recognition technology is far less accurate for Black faces — especially Black women — and this unreliability goes far beyond a technical “glitch,” it can lead to wrongful arrests and other serious consequences. AI is also transforming the hiring process by deciding which resumes to read and share. Because these systems reflect systemic biases, it has led to the exclusion of qualified Black candidates.
Why We Need to Care
AI systems can misrepresent our culture and spread misinformation about our history. This isn’t a matter of computers occasionally getting it wrong—it’s about stopping the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes that erase our identity.
The companies involved in training large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s GPT-4, also bear high responsibility. One Black employee who formerly worked with AI training company Data Annotation Tech found themselves booted from the platform after frequently calling out racial bias. The worker also confirmed that all of their Black referrals have been fully ignored. It’s like the adage “If you see something, say something,” except in this case, they were kicked out for it.
In a cruel and abusive irony, OpenAI abused Kenyan workers in what they called an effort to make ChatGPT “less toxic,” while only paying them $2 per hour. We’re certain these companies could say it’s just a coincidence or point to other reasons for leaving us out of the process, but the fact remains: we’re being excluded.
Like most technological advances, AI could be a game-changer for us if we play it right. It could improve healthcare and education, and even begin fixing systemic biases in banking. But for this to happen, we have to stay informed and get proactive. If not, we risk AI becoming the high-tech version of a nosy neighbor who’s always in our business but never quite gets the story right.
What the Future Could Hold for Us
To start, we need to demand better representation in the tech industry. When we’re involved in developing and implementing AI, we can help ensure these systems actually work for the betterment of our culture. AI is clearly here to stay, so it’s up to our community to ensure it works for us, not against us.
By staying informed, getting involved, and being proactive, we can help ensure that AI technologies are developed with our needs and perspectives in mind, rather than perpetuating existing biases and inequalities.