Color Of Change Launches Updated Black Tech Agenda
National – Color Of Change (COC), the nation’s largest online racial justice organization, has released its updated Black Tech Agenda, a plan designed to ensure technology and artificial intelligence (AI) developed by Big Tech serves to promote the well-being of Black communities rather than detract from it. This new agenda builds on COC’s groundbreaking 2022 version, tackling emerging challenges like protecting Black workers from discriminatory AI systems, ensuring fair compensation for Black artists, and mitigating pollution from tech infrastructure in Black neighborhoods.
Defining the Black Tech Agenda
The updated agenda calls for established rules regulating how AI should be employed and establishes real consequences under federal and state laws. Color Of Change argues that technology must be a tool for justice and not an agent of oppression.
“Technology now shapes every part of our lives from jobs to healthcare,” said Portia Allen-Kyle, Interim Executive Director of Color Of Change. “But instead of uplifting Black communities, these systems too often discriminate against us. That’s why we’re introducing a stronger Black Tech Agenda that protects our civil rights and builds real economic power for our communities.”
Six Key Pillars of Black Tech Equity
The Black Tech Agenda encompasses six essential pillars for Black tech equity, focusing on issues from clean digital access to protecting the intellectual property of Black creators:
- Clean Digital Access: Ensure affordable internet and digital services that do not harm Black communities.
- Individual Control Over Digital Lives: Implement privacy laws allowing individuals to control how their data is used.
- Community Control Over Neighborhoods: Mandate public input from Black residents in decisions affecting their neighborhoods.
- Fair Economic Opportunities: Conduct regular audits of AI systems to prevent discriminatory practices in hiring and loan approvals.
- Worker Protection in Technology: Create fair labor practices within tech companies to support Black employees.
- Control Over Creative Expressions: Protect the intellectual property of Black artists from appropriation by AI systems.
A Call for Accountability in AI
Michael Huggins, Deputy Senior Director of Policy and Government Affairs at Color Of Change, emphasized the need for regulation of AI, noting “AI must work for Black communities” to mitigate the risks of exclusion.
The organization’s efforts follow a history of advocating for reforms in Big Tech, including advocating for net neutrality and a boycott of platforms inciting anti-Black hatred. The Black Tech Agenda stands as a framework for ensuring that technology promotes empowerment and justice for the Black community.
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- AI Equity
- Black Tech Agenda
- Color Of Change
- Digital Rights