Welcome to the New Black in AI

Black in AI began with a simple question: if we can count the number of black AI practitioners at the largest AI conferences in the world on one hand, how much influence could Black people in AI have on the field–and on our futures?

With these concerns in mind, we created a workshop at NeurIPS to ensure that black researchers could share their findings. We provided travel grants to bring practitioners from the continent and diaspora to conferences and built a community of over 5,900 professionals to foster collaboration and innovation. But that was only the beginning. 

As artificial intelligence moves beyond insular circles and begins to tangibly impact us socially and economically, our work has grown with it. The introduction of AI into daily life through ChaptGPT, Google’s Gemini, and other LLMs has brought forth a slew of questions: is the data being used to train these models accounting for systemic bias? What are the ethical and social implications of rapid AI integration and deployment? Who holds the power to shape the future of artificial intelligence? And how do we ensure that AI evolves into a tool that can create an equitable future for all?

These questions have pushed us to look at the AI ecosystem in its totality and engage from the top down in education, policy, advocacy, and entrepreneurship. We’ve expanded beyond conferences and into breaking down barriers to graduate school programs, speaking with caucuses and White House officials on AI ethics and regulations, creating incubators for Black AI practitioners, and so much more.

As we continue to transform, we want to make sure that we’re representing the entirety of our work and our community. To that effect, our new look and digital home is a step towards visualizing a more inclusive AI future. The sphere and silhouetted images in our logo reflect our truly global community, and our new colors emulate the digital space we’re advocating for and working in. We invite you to explore our new website, discover our work, and join us in ensuring that the technologies of today will benefit all of us tomorrow.