Dear Friends,

In my last message to you all, I had just returned from delivering a speech at the White House. I thank everyone who read my remarks, shared them and reached out to join us in support.

Tomorrow, I return to Washington, DC, to speak at the Congressional Briefing on Artificial Intelligence and Civil Rights Briefing, organized by Senator Cory Booker and the Lawyers’ Committee on Civil Rights.

While many closed-door meetings are happening - I am excited to be amongst lawmakers, congressional staff, researchers, and community leaders committed to using the growing concern around the datatification of society as an opportunity to make bold demands for racial justice. And it is certainly an honor to be called on in this historic moment as our nation’s capital grapples with the task of legislating and regulating a technological phenomenon with no legal definition.

We are no strangers to definitional problems. I started Data for Black when the industry that is now Data Science was being formed, and to this day, there is no unified definition of Big Data. Artificial Intelligence, commonly referred to as AI, is now at the forefront - sold to us as the solution to all of our problems and the greatest existential threat at the same time.

Exposing and eliminating the weaponization of data under the guises of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ is the greatest Civil Rights battle of our time. Our goal at the White House and any of these spaces is to challenge the hype and highlight the harm.

And to urge those in office that just because a technology is new doesn’t mean that it is innovative - and it certainly does mean it is beneficial, much less able to aid us in the constant struggle to demand and protect basic Human and Civil Rights.

Join us on the live stream tomorrow at 2:00 PM ET.

See you tomorrow!

Yeshimabeit