This Spelman Researcher Is Teaching AI How to Actually Understand Black Hair
A Spelman College researcher recently announced a new study dedicated to creating an accurate representation of Black women’s hairstyles in AI.
Released as part of the Arthur M. Black Innovations Lab, the study, titled “In the Context of Curls,” is led by researcher Blanca Burch. It addresses the biases integrated in AI as it becomes ingrained in daily life. The project analyzes multiple AI-generated images of Black hairstyles and textures. By doing so, the findings would be used to determine how to create inclusive datasets and design practices that eliminate biases. Approximately 200 participants are said to take part in the experiment.
“The AI, when I just typed in a Black woman with a pineapple hairstyle, struggled a little bit,” said Burch via CBS News. “Most notably, it would actually put a pineapple on the top of my head or change the hair color to green.”
As AI continues to get pushed into the mainstream, tech researchers have sounded the alarm on the racial biases on which AI is based.
Per the Stanford University Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence department, AI is restrictive when it comes to race, perpetuating racial stereotypes and miscategorizing people. The systems are often built using data from the Census Bureau. The agency has previously been faced with accusations that its data revolves around “political and ideological needs and interests.”
The same biases have been highlighted in hairstyles. According to a study released earlier this year, AI discriminated against Black women for their hairstyles. Using eight photos generated by ChatGPT, researchers input different images of both Black women and white women into three different AI systems to get a response on AI’s perception of the women.
The photos were all identical, with the hair as the only variable. In their findings, the researchers found that the Black woman with braids was the only person not labeled as intelligent and received a lower happiness score. All three AI systems rated Black women with straight hair as having the highest professionalism scores. Meanwhile, in comparison, AI did not factor in white women's hairstyles when judging their competence levels.
According to the researcher, the biases implemented in AI systems could eventually prove costly for Black women, particularly when it comes to hiring. AI is being heavily used in screening for candidates; therefore, issues in the way it operates may keep Black women out of different sectors and cost them job opportunities.
To address this, the researcher emphasized the importance of fixing these biases, developing AI literacy and advocating for legislation to prevent hair discrimination.