Tag: diversity
Approaching the issue of diversity in the tech industry
StreamElements announces recipients of 2023 Creator Diversity Program
Warm intros are awful for diversity, so why do investors keep insisting on them?
There are oodles of advantages to having a diverse workforce, but you can’t simply take your homogenous workforce, add diversity, stir and hope for the best.
Warm intros are awful for diversity, so why do investors keep insisting on them? by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch
Is it wise for the Christianity of the Coronation to be so diluted in the name of diversity?
RAF boss ready to test ‘the limit of the law’ to improve diversity
The Margin: ‘Digital Blackface’? Levi’s gets pushback for using AI models to add diversity.
Levi’s to use AI models to ‘increase diversity and sustainability’
Artificial intelligence has been a hot topic with the advent of programs like ChatGPT and Midjourney, and brands are (unfortunately) getting in on it. This week, the iconic denim company Levi’s announced its partnership with AI studio Lalaland.ai, which creates AI-generated fashion models. Levi’s plans on testing the use of these models to “supplement human models, increasing the number and diversity of our models for our products in a sustainable way,” it announced in a press release.
Lalaland.ai apparently generates “hyper-realistic” models of varying body types, ages, and skin tones. According to its website, companies Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger have also worked with the studio.
“While AI will likely never fully replace human models for us, we are excited for the potential capabilities this may afford us for the consumer experience,” said Dr. Amy Gershkoff Bolles, an executive focused on emerging tech at Levi Strauss, in the presser.
This time last year, Levi Strauss laid off 700 employees, or 15 percent of its workforce, amidst restructuring at the company. According to USA Today, the cuts allowed the company to save $100 million a year.
Levi’s also claimed in the announcement that its diversity efforts will go beyond using AI models, noting that it’s focusing on working with content creators in front and behind the camera who are “reflective of [their] broad consumer base.” It’s unclear, however, how this initiative coalesces with the use of fake models instead of paying real models, make-up artists, and photography staff.
The company’s desire to move towards AI-generated models is emblematic of other industry attempts to replace real people with AI. In August of last year, Capitol Records signed, and then subsequently fired, AI rapper FN Meka. The virtual rapper was terminated amidst calls that the character promoted “gross stereotypes” of Black culture.
Spotify hasn’t spent much of its $100 million diversity fund
Spotify has spent less than 10 percent of its $100 million Creator Equity Fund in its first year, Bloomberg reported. The fund’s purpose is to bolster diversity in music and podcasts through licensing, developing, and promoting work by marginalized creators.
Last year, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek announced the creation of the fund following controversy surrounding podcaster Joe Rogan, who has a $200 million exclusive deal with the music streaming service. Rogan has used the n-word and other racist language on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience and has spread misinformation regarding COVID vaccines as well. Employees and musicians like Neil Young called on Spotify to cut ties with Rogan, but instead, they removed dozens of episodes and committed $100 million to the equity fund.
The figure of $100 million was meant to be symbolic, as Rogan was rumored to receive $100 million from the platform — but later, it was revealed Rogan is actually paid double that.
The money was supposed to be distributed over three years, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, but due to a lack of structure and shifting priorities at the company, that plan hasn’t materialized. According to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg, the fund was still determining its 2023 budget at the start of the year and hadn’t yet determined priority projects.
A Spotify spokesperson told Bloomberg that over $10 million of the fund has been spent, however. They cited GLOW, an initiative to support LGBTQ creators, and Nailing It, a podcast hosted by three Black women, as avenues where the money has been spent. Additionally, this week Spotify announced a partnership with Spelman College, a historically Black women’s college, to provide scholarships for students interested in podcasting.
The spokesperson told Bloomberg in an emailed statement: “The Spotify Creator Equity Fund is dedicated to a variety of initiatives that help elevate and support an inclusive and diverse portfolio of artists and creators on the platform…We are able to empower and uplift underrepresented voices around the world.”