AI Erasing My Identity?!
Vivian Acquah CDE®
Available Certified Diversity Executive (CDE®) ✪ LinkedIn Top Voice ✪ Fractional Chief Diversity Officer ✪ Neurodiversity ✪ ESDP Certified Ethnic Business Owner, Speaker, Facilitator & Trainer ESG CSR CSRD DEI
Last week Sunday I created a Linkedin poll with the following question: What is my unique selling point (USP) when you look at my LinkedIn Profile Photo?
This is the outcome of the poll.
As you can see a lot of people voted for "All The Above" (smile, headwrap, hair & eyes) and for "Headwrap & Hair". A lot of people have confided in me that they love how I add culture to my headwrap and that I inspire a lot of young (black) girls to also wear ombre hair. When they see me on TV or on social media they see themselves in me and how I inspire them to show up no matter the hair texture or color.
I promised to share my reason for creating this poll after the poll results. I recently had a negative experience with an AI tool that erased the unique elements that have a deeper meaning to me. I used the first image to apply this to my avatar and the last image is showing the output.
My headwrap and hair are part of my identity, erasing my headwrap and hair means that this tool is erasing a part of my identity. This tool is erasing my Ghanaian heritage, this tool is erasing my uniqueness, and so much more. I know that AI tools have a long way to go when it comes to identifying (black) people in the right way but to encounter this myself.
I felt hurt/dissapointed.
How would you feel if someone would erase elements that are unique to your identity?
A tip for those who are working in the AI domain, watch the movie Coded Bias @ Netflix to learn more about the false in facial recognition technology. Support Coded Bias by taking action!
My hair is not JUST hair. My hair is my crown. My hair is my confidence. My hair is my beauty. My hair is my pride. My hair is my strength as a black woman. My hair is me.
Ask a black woman or black girl about her hairstyle preference, and you will be amazed at the myriad answers you get. Why? Because black women’s identity and their relationship with their hairstyle are intrinsically linked. One cannot exist without the other.
View this video to learn more about why hair is part of black women's identity.
Again how would you feel if someone would erase elements that are unique to your identity?
I help high achieving dynamic women to eliminate overwhelm & create balance so they do more of what they are passionate about & go further faster to realise more than they ever believed possible using my CLARITY method
2yVivian Acquah (she/her/hers) - Fellow Ghanaian woman here. I feel your hurt and frustration. Our identity is so important and to have it erased in this way is so unacceptable. Without diversity in the industry, there will not be change. Kat Y. Rijole Bitata
Enterprise Account Manager at insightsoftware | Connected Solutions for the Office of the CFO
2yReally shocked to see this. Technology has brought us so far forward in the last 50 years, but we need to constantly remind ourselves that technology should be strongly monitored and regulated so that we continuously put our human-ness, our uniqueness as individuals, at the center of our advancements.
Diversity&Inclusion Recruitment/Nationwide Care Recruiter/Student Internships
2yRiveting!
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Specialist
2yThank you for sharing your experience with this AI technology, Vivian Acquah (she/her/hers). All of the Black women who participated in this event definitely had a similar experience. As you already know, the worst part was having to talk about DEI in a space that was not inclusive. I was quite offended by the lack of hairstyles, the lack of body sizes and skin tones. It’s safe to say that it was a learning experience for everyone involved!
"Empowering Global Change | DEI Expert @ Bontekoning & Bron | Inspirational Keynote Speaker | Unleashing the Power of Inclusive Communication and Allyship for a World That Thrives 🌎✨ | Join me on this Journey!"
2yVivian Acquah (she/her/hers) I am sorry to read that you had a negative experience using AI. And thank you for sharing your experience in this post raising awareness that there is a lot of work to do in field of AI when it comes to D&I. Unknowing that this would be the result of the poll, I voted for the hair and headwrap. Everything about you is appealing. However, to me, your hair and headwrap are eye-catchers. They make you unique. I recognized your hair and headwrap as a versatile way of expressing parts of your authentic self. Hair and headwraps (like other parts of our being), in essence, are used since ancient times to communicate our physical and our spiritual identities. They signal narratives of stages in our life cycle, who we are, where we believe that we belong (or not), and so much more. I can understand that AI is still in the beginning phase of its development. However, I find the biased lens that is creating it extremely disturbing and harmful for our identities and society. Development and developers in AI need to be more diverse and have a sense of inclusion while proceeding with these types of products.