Dr. Ayanna Howard
Black in AI
Timnit Gebru - the first Black woman to be hired as a research scientist at Google in the United States—brainstormed a solution with fellow history-maker Rediet Abebe, the first Black woman to earn a PhD in computer science from Cornell University and the first Black woman to become a tenure-track professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
Timnit W. Gebru (Amharic and Tigrinya: ትምኒት ገብሩ; 1982/1983) is an Eritrean Ethiopian-born computer scientist who works in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), algorithmic bias and data mining.[5] She is a co-founder of Black in AI, an advocacy group that has pushed for more Black roles in AI development and research.
Timnit Gebru
The Distributed AI Research Institute is an independent organization conducting community-rooted research. We are a globally distributed group of academics, activists, and engineers who believe in technology that benefits everyone.
Failing Smell Test
Foul, Out of Bounds, Off Road
Techspark.AI, CAN
Spark the Mind,
Change the World.
Tech Spark AI helps historically marginalized students see their culture positively reflected in their learning spaces. We elevate educators to better serve their scholars through culturally responsive curriculums, training, and personalized AI tools.
The Unique Challenge
Increasing diversity in the technology ecosystem is an urgent national priority. The USA National Report Card highlights significant academic performance declines and widening achievement gaps, disproportionately affecting Black and Brown students. These disparities are exacerbated by the digital divide, with the advancement of AI widening the gap further.
We recognize a breakdown in the pipeline that moves Black youth and girls from elementary to high school STEM courses. This leads to underrepresentation in higher education and technology careers. Black students often feel discouraged from pursuing STEM due to a lack of positive representation and engagement within the curriculum. Women comprise only 23% of STEM graduates, with Black women making up just 2.9%.
Our mission is to close this gap through our intelligent AI tool, Spark Plug, professional development, culturally responsive curriculum design, and advanced tech workshops for youth. We aim to provide underrepresented students with opportunities to thrive, ensuring they can make meaningful contributions to the tech ecosystem.
By addressing these challenges head-on, we strive to build a more inclusive and equitable educational landscape.
Theory of Change:
Redesign Learning: Innovate educational practices to be culturally responsive and technologically enriched.
Shift Mindsets of Teachers and Administrators: Enhance change through mindset-shifting professional development.
Influence Education Policy: Advocate for policies that promote advancements in education.
Co-Create with Students: Collaborate with students in experiences that resonate with their cultural and technological realities.
Engage with the Community: Build strong community ties to ensure education is relevant, inclusive, and impactful.
Stephen Ibaraki
Stephen K. Ibaraki has been a teacher, an industry analyst, writer and consultant in the IT industry, and the former president of the Canadian Information Processing Society.
Currently, Ibaraki is a venture capitalist, entrepreneur, futurist and speaker. He is also the founder of the UN ITU AI for Good Global Summit, and a vicechair of the ITU-WHO Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health, founding chair of the Financial Services Roundtable Tech Advisory Council, and founding chair of the International Federation for Information Processing Global Industry Council. Ibaraki serves as an Advisor for the Business Development Committee of the IEEE Computer Society. He is the co-founder for the Technology Advisory Board at Yintech Investment Holdings Limited.
In 2018, he was invited to be a founding member of IPSoft's AI Pioneers Steering Committee and he was also invited to join the Science and Technology Council for the ARCH Mission Foundation. Aside from taking on these new roles, he was invited to be a keynote speaker at the Yonder25 Conference as well as the Reshaping National Security forum which was hosted by Shanghai Institute for International Studies; and the UNICRI Centre for AI and Robotics.
Ibaraki has been the recipient of a Microsoft MVP award for 13 years in a row since 2006
In December 2018, Ibaraki was invited by YPO to share his insights about business and investments with respect to the Fourth Industrial Revolution at YPO Edge 2019.