In June 2020, after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis (USA) and the solidarity that adopted as hundreds of thousands spoke out at Black Lives Matter protests around the globe, I – like many others – mirrored on the scenario and the way our organisation may contribute. I then shared some thoughts round DeepMind’s intention to assist fight racism and advance racial fairness.
With different senior leaders at DeepMind, I hung out listening and speaking to colleagues about how racism impacts peoples’ private {and professional} lives and replicates itself within the programs and constructions of our society. We additionally explored – and gathered suggestions – on how we may finest help racial justice within the communities DeepMind interacts with.
At this time I’m happy to share one of many outcomes of that course of: placing assets immediately within the fingers of Black communities, to allow them to resolve the place they want them most. Up to now months, we made donations to organisations that play an important position supporting Black communities within the UK, US and Africa. Particularly, we’ve supported organisations who’re centered on affect within the AI/ML area, these supporting rising regional tech communities, and people centered on broader societal affect. These donations are unrestricted, which means every of those organisations can use the funds nevertheless they should, to speed up sustained affect.
Who’re we funding?
We’re delighted to help these organisations, and grateful to lots of those that have shared with us an summary of their work:
Black Cultural Archives
Black Cultural Archives (UK) is the house of Black British Historical past, located inside the iconic Windrush Sq. in Brixton. Since its inception in 1981, they’ve develop into the main non-governmental and heritage institutional voice for the Windrush Era, additionally main within the heritage sector for his or her work on workforce range and interrogating decolonial archival practices. Their general mission is to gather, protect and have fun the histories of individuals of African and Caribbean descent within the UK, inspiring and strengthening communities, people, and society alike.
Black in AI
Black in AI (USA) is a multi-institutional, transcontinental initiative creating an area for sharing concepts, fostering collaborations, and discussing initiatives to extend the presence of Black people within the discipline of AI.
Black Thrive World
Black Thrive World (UK) is a partnership between communities, statutory organisations, and the voluntary and personal sectors. They work collectively to enhance the experiences and outcomes of Black individuals in psychological well being companies within the UK, in addition to deal with the social inequality and injustices that result in the disproportionately excessive price of psychological sickness amongst Black individuals.
Knowledge Science Africa
Knowledge Science Africa (Kenya) is a grassroots capability constructing organisation that runs summer time colleges and workshops within the space of knowledge science, AI and machine studying. Since 2015, they’ve run eight occasions in six nations in East and West Africa. They’ve additionally begun a research award program to help African researchers and a visiting fellowship program to help analysis visits to DSA accomplice establishments.
Deep Studying Indaba
Deep Studying Indaba (throughout the African continent) helps Africa’s group in AI to be house owners and shapers of Machine Studying. Their mission is to strengthen Machine Studying on the African continent. A method they’re doing that is by supporting AI communities by means of domestically organised IndabaX occasions, which now contains 31 IndabaX ML communities throughout the continent. These occasions have been the easiest way to attach native ML researchers, engineers and fans to share their analysis, innovation and present challenges. Final 12 months, they launched an progressive mentorship program and this 12 months they’re coming to the top of 11 research initiatives and want to additional deepen their collaboration with Data Science Africa.
StopWatch
StopWatch (UK) is a coalition of teachers, attorneys, civil society organisations, and group stakeholders who goal to deal with extra and disproportionate cease and search, promote finest apply and guarantee honest, efficient policing for all. This contains authorized and coverage evaluation, media protection and commentary, political advocacy, litigation, submissions to nationwide and worldwide organisations and group organising.
Ubele Initiative
Ubele Initiative’s (UK) work is grounded in community-based approaches to improvement, supporting Black and minoritised teams with their group belongings by means of social motion, enterprise improvement, and next-generation management initiatives.
Efforts inside DeepMind
It is an honour to help these organisations and to have the privilege of highlighting their efforts, however we recognise that this sort of help is just one small a part of the necessary work we have to do. At DeepMind, we need to construct secure and moral AI and deploy it in a approach that’s useful to society, which requires holding ourselves to a excessive normal of fairness and equity in our analysis and inner practices.
Because of the dedication and fervour of many teams inside DeepMind, this considering is shaping our efforts to enhance illustration in AI and to make sure a good and inclusive office.
It is also a perspective that, step-by-step, we’re integrating into our analysis programmes, fastidiously assessing our analysis for potential harms, making certain area for crucial reflection by way of research and discussion on socio-technical subjects. We’re additionally recurrently reviewing inner hiring, promotion and venture project processes by means of the prism of fairness. Externally, our scholarship & mentorship programme, which helps underrepresented teams to pursue postgraduate research, has expanded dramatically previously two years.
My deep due to everybody who has dedicated time, power and fervour to those efforts to this point.
