Latest news with #AfricanAmericanEnglish
Forbes
19-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Black Voices Are Training Big Tech. But Who's Protecting Them?
Howard University and Google are partnering under the name Project Elevate Black Voices to release ... More data that can be used by artificial intelligence to better understand African American English. It was recently announced that Howard University and Google are partnering under the name Project Elevate Black Voices to release data that can be used by artificial intelligence to better understand African American English (AAE). A media release from Howard University explained that researchers traveled across the United States to capture different dialects used within the Black community, collecting 600 hours of vocal data across 32 states in different dialects, dictions and accents. The project's aim is to address the inherent bias baked into many artificial intelligence-driven tools we use to address difficulties interpreting and understanding Black users who have dialects and diction more common in the Black community. Howard University will own the dataset and licensing, making the data available to researchers and institutions at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and will allow Google to use the dataset to improve its products. In an Instagram post made by pocintech about the project, there were many who were leery of the partnership stating it wasn't a good idea, with some wondering how this partnership would benefit the Black community. It's understandable for some to be suspicious about this type of partnership. There is a long history of tech being extractive, exploitative and harmful to the Black community. The erasure of Black creators who have started trends and viral dances yet are the least protected on social media, racial bias in facial recognition software used for policing and surveillance, and technology that is more likely to flag Black creator's content as 'offensive,' are just a few examples. Though the backlash is warranted, we should also consider the different ways that a robust dataset containing different types of AAE can benefit Black workers and help create better technology. Many companies use tech tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams auto-captioning, AI notetakers, and meeting recording summaries. Having more data about AAE will help to improve these speech recognition tools, which can often misinterpret AAE. In some cases, a dataset like this may make employees less likely to codeswitch because they won't have to worry as much about whether their voice and speech patterns will be understood by workplace AI tools, making these tools more inclusive and accessible. Industries like healthcare, customer service and the legal sector, which may use speech-to-text tools for things like clinical documentation, customer sentiment analysis, and to transcribe legal documents could particularly benefit from Project Elevate Black Voices. Many companies use tech tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams auto-captioning, AI notetakers, and ... More meeting recording summaries. The criticism that can be seen online is not completely unwarranted. There are very real tensions around who will have access to the dataset in the future and some are worried that the data could be extracted and exploited to the detriment of the community that it was designed to benefit. The value of this type of rich data outside of improved speech recognition tools is a preservation and archive of Black American culture during a time when Black history is being actively erased. In the wrong hands though, this type of data could be used in nefarious ways, furthering the use of Black AI influencers and digital Blackface, training AI products without the compensation or credit (and in some cases the knowledge) of those whose data was used to train these products, and expanding the use of surveillance technology that disproportionately harms and targets Black people. According to Howard's media release about the partnership, 'The Howard African American English Dataset 1.0 will initially be made available exclusively to researchers and institutions within historically Black colleges and universities to ensure that the data is employed in ways that reflect the interests and needs of marginalized communities, specifically African American communities whose linguistic practices have often been excluded or misrepresented in computational systems.' It's understandable to question how this data could be used to further the harm that Black communities already face. While the initial intentions in collecting this data may be benevolent, it's imperative to understand how easy it is for data to be wielded for corrupt and capitalistic purposes. It is a great move that the data will be available to HBCU institutions, but a word of caution: Black-led, Black-founded and Black-owned organizations and institutions are not immune to harm and extraction—one could argue that within these systems, harm is more insidious and is sometimes more challenging to spot and combat. Organizations and institutions that are primarily Black or led by Black people can still engage in practices that are oppressive and harmful. Audre Lorde taught us that, 'the true focus of revolutionary change is never merely the oppressive situations we seek to escape, but that piece of the oppressor which is planted deep within us.' We must be careful that when we are trying to reclaim equity and repair broken tools that we do not recreate newer versions of the same harmful systems.
Miami Herald
10-07-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
HBCU teams up with Google to help AI understand Black Voices
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new partnership between Howard University and Google Research aims to help artificial intelligence (AI) systems better understand the richness and complexity of African American English (AAE). The effort could significantly improve the experience of Black users interacting with voice-enabled technology, and an HBCU is leading the way. The initiative, titled Project Elevate Black Voices, was first reported by The Dig, a multimedia platform created by Howard University to highlight campus news and stories. Howard and Google researchers have compiled a groundbreaking dataset of over 600 hours of recorded speech. The audio, gathered from speakers across 32 states, captures a range of African American English dialects. Though deeply rooted in American history and culture, these speech patterns are often underrepresented-or misunderstood-by current AI systems. The goal is clear: to create automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems that work equitably for everyone. "African American English has been at the forefront of United States culture since almost the beginning of the country," said Dr. Gloria Washington, co-principal investigator and Howard computer science professor. "Voice assistant technology should understand different dialects of all African American English to truly serve not just African Americans, but others who speak these unique dialects." Automatic speech recognition tools power many devices-from smartphones to smart speakers and in-car systems. However, many Black users report changing their natural voice or code-switching to be understood. This issue stems from a lack of training data reflecting how Black communities speak. According to researchers, many users have been conditioned to adjust their voices because speech technologies often fail to recognize AAE accurately. "There's a noticeable absence of natural AAE in existing speech datasets," Washington noted. "Even when it exists, it's hard to leverage due to code-switching and social pressures." Dr. Courtney Heldreth, co-principal investigator at Google Research, called the collaboration both important and personal. "It's our mission at Google to make technology that's useful and accessible," Heldreth said. "I truly believe that our work here will allow more users to express themselves authentically when using smart devices." Google will have access to the dataset for product improvement, but Howard University will retain full ownership and control of licensing. The HBCU will also serve as a steward of its ethical use, ensuring it benefits the communities represented. Dr. Lucretia Williams, who led community outreach for the project, emphasized the importance of trust and privacy. "I wanted to carefully curate the community activations to be a safe and trusted space," Williams said. "It's not just about data. It's about voice, identity, and accountability." As AI becomes more embedded in daily life, this collaboration between an HBCU and a tech giant offers a model for inclusive development. By centering the voices often left out of the conversation, Howard and Google are building systems that listen-and respond-more equitably. The post HBCU teams up with Google to help AI understand Black Voices appeared first on HBCU Gameday. Copyright HBCU Gameday 2012-2025
Black America Web
29-06-2025
- Science
- Black America Web
Howard University And Google Team Up To Advance AI Speech Recognition For African American English
Source: Liubomyr Vorona / Getty In a significant move toward advancing inclusivity in technology, Howard University and Google Research have unveiled a new dataset designed to enhance how automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems serve Black users. The collaboration, part of Project Elevate Black Voices , involved researchers traveling nationwide to document the unique dialects, accents, and speech patterns commonly found in Black communities, features often misinterpreted or ignored by current AI systems. The project spotlights African American English (AAE)—also known as African American Vernacular English, Black English, Ebonics, or simply 'Black talk'—a culturally rich and historically rooted linguistic form. Due to systemic bias in the development of AI tools, Black users have frequently encountered errors or been misunderstood by voice technologies, sometimes feeling pressured to alter their natural speech just to be recognized by these systems— a classic form of code switching. Researchers at Howard University and Google are on a mission to change this. 'African American English has been at the forefront of United States culture since almost the beginning of the country,' shared Gloria Washington, Ph.D., a Howard University researcher and the co-principal investigator of Project Elevate Black Voices , in a press release. 'Voice assistant technology should understand different dialects of all African American English to truly serve not just African Americans, but other persons who speak these unique dialects. It's about time that we provide the best experience for all users of these technologies.' To build this groundbreaking dataset, researchers gathered 600 hours of speech from participants representing various AAE dialects across 32 states. The goal was to confront hidden barriers that hinder the effectiveness of automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems for Black users. One of the key findings was that AAE is significantly underrepresented in existing speech datasets, not because the language isn't spoken, but because many Black users have been socially conditioned to alter their natural speech when interacting with voice technology. This phenomenon, often rooted in the need to be understood by systems that don't recognize AAE, leads to a lack of authentic representation. A 2023 Google blog post highlighted another challenge: privacy and security policies, while essential, create additional constraints on the collection of AAE-specific voice data. These self-imposed limits make it harder to amass the scale and authenticity of data required to close the gap in performance. Despite these challenges, progress is being made. Researchers are now using dialect classifiers to identify AAE within broader datasets, a promising first step toward building more inclusive technologies. Howard University will maintain ownership and licensing rights to the dataset, serving as its ethical guardian to ensure it's used responsibly and for the benefit of Black communities. Google, in turn, will be able to use the dataset to enhance its own ASR products, part of a broader effort to make AI tools more equitable across dialects, languages, and accents globally. SEE MORE: What Are Racial Microaggressions? Black Culture, White Face: How the Internet Helped Hijack Our Culture SEE ALSO Howard University And Google Team Up To Advance AI Speech Recognition For African American English was originally published on
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Howard University and Google Research Enhance A.I. Speech Recognition of African American English
Howard University and Google researchers release dataset of over 600 hours of African American English dialects to improve AI speech recognition Howard University and Google Research elevate Black American dialects in AI WASHINGTON, D.C., June 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Howard University and Google Research released data today which can be used by artificial intelligence developers to improve the experience of Black people using automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology. Through the partnership, Project Elevate Black Voices, researchers traveled across the United States to catalogue dialects and diction used frequently in Black communities but often not recognized or misconstrued by artificial intelligence-driven technologies, making it more difficult for many Black individuals to engage with the technology. African American English (AAE), African American Vernacular, Black English, Black talk, or Ebonics is a rich language rooted in history and culture. Because of inherent bias in the development process, incorrect results are sometimes generated when Black users vocalize commands to AI-driven technology. Many Black users have needed to inauthentically change their voice patterns away from their natural accents to be understood by voice products. 'African American English has been at the forefront of United States culture since almost the beginning of the country' said Gloria Washington, Ph.D., Howard University researcher and co-principal investigator of Project Elevate Black Voices and Howard University researcher. Voice assistant technology should understand different dialects of all African American English to truly serve not just African Americans, but other persons who speak these unique dialects. It's about time that we provide the best experience for all users of these technologies.' Researchers collected 600 hours of data from users of different AAE dialects in an effort to address implicit barriers to improving ASR performance. Thirty-two states are represented in the dataset. They found that there is a lack of natural AAE speech found within speech data because Black users have been implicitly conditioned to change their voices when using ASR-based technology. Even when data is available, in-product AAE is difficult to leverage because of code-switching. "Working with our outstanding partners at Howard University on Project Elevate Black Voices has been a tremendous and personal honor,' said Courtney Heldreth, co-principal investigator at Google Research. 'It's our mission at Google to make technology that's useful and accessible, and I truly believe that our work here will allow more users to express themselves authentically when using smart devices.' Howard University will retain ownership of the dataset and licensing, and serve as stewards for its responsible use, ensuring the data benefits Black communities. Google can also use the dataset to improve its own products, ensuring that their tools work for more people. Google performs this type of model training work with all sorts of dialects, languages, and accents around the US and the world. 'As a community-based researcher, I wanted to carefully curate the community activations to be a safe and trusted space for members of the community to share their experiences about tech and AI and to also ask those uncomfortable questions regarding data privacy,' said Lucretia Williams, Ph.D., project lead and Howard University researcher. The project team adopted a community-centric approach to audio data collection by organizing curated events in several cities, centering around Black panelists who both live and work in those communities. These panelists facilitated open and transparent discussions focused on Black culture, the intersection of technology and Black experiences, the growing presence of AI, and the importance of the Black community's active participation in innovation. At the end of each event, the team introduced a three-week audio data collection initiative, inviting participants to sign up and contribute their voices and experiences to the project. The Howard African American English Dataset 1.0 will initially be made available exclusively to researchers and institutions within historically Black colleges and universities to ensure that the data is employed in ways that reflect the interests and needs of marginalized communities, specifically African American communities whose linguistic practices have often been excluded or misrepresented in computational systems. The release of this dataset to entities outside the HBCU network will be held for consideration at a later date, with the intention of prioritizing those whose work aligns with the values of inclusivity, empowerment, and community-driven research. ### About Howard University Howard University, established in 1867, is a leading private research university based in Washington, D.C. Howard's 14 schools and colleges offer 140 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs and lead the nation in awarding doctoral degrees to African American students. Howard is the top-ranked historically Black college or university according to Forbes and is the only HBCU ranked among U.S. News & World Report's Top 100 National Universities. Renowned for its esteemed faculty, high achieving students, and commitment to excellence, leadership, truth and service, Howard produces distinguished alumni across all sectors, including the first Black U.S. Supreme Court justice and the first woman U.S. vice president; Schwarzman, Marshall, Rhodes and Truman Scholars; prestigious fellows; and over 165 Fulbright recipients. Learn more at Attachment Howard University and Google Research elevate Black American dialects in AI CONTACT: Carol Wilkerson Howard University 202-288-7071 in to access your portfolio
ITV News
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- ITV News
'No cap': the slang terms 'kicking the bucket'
Whether you're "keeping it real", having a "glow-up", or "eating and leaving no crumbs' could have a lot to do with how old you are. The British Council, an organisation which promotes and educates on UK culture, claims some older expressions are falling out of fashion as new ones rise in popularity - driven largely by social media and Gen Z. In its report on 100 phrases which show how the English language is changing, they said that whilst classic idioms such as 'kill two birds with one stone' remain widely used, newer phrases are gaining momentum. 'No cap', meaning no lie or I'm serious, was the most popular of the 100 phrases for Gen Z. First used in 2011, the slang term comes from African American English where 'cap' means exaggeration or falsehood and is used across the generations, the study found, but most prominently by Gen Z. Other phrases are being replaced by modern alternatives as younger generations embrace the shift. 'Spill the beans' was first recorded in 1919, the report said, but saw a surge in the 1990s. The British Council says the rise in social media is partly to blame for the rising popularity of similar phrase, "spill the tea" - an idiom popular with gen Z. Some phrases like "step up to the plate" and "below the belt" are frequently used among older generations but could be falling out of fashion as they're rarely seen in internet comment sections which skew to a younger audience. The British Council said the phrase 'bucket list', meaning a list of things to do before you die, was 'practically unheard of' until 2007, when comedy-adventure film The Bucket List was released. It is thought to have come from another idiom: 'to kick the bucket'. The research, led by computational linguistics expert Dr Barbara McGillivray and natural language processing specialist Iacopo Ghinassi, analysed millions of online documents to track when expressions emerge and how their use changes Dr McGillivray said: 'Analysing the frequency and emergence of idioms, proverbs, and phrases, we uncover not only the impact of historical events but also how the digital era shapes the language we use today. The British Council found some idioms appeared to skip a generation, with phrases like "throw in the towel" and "joie de vivre" being popular among older generations and gen Z, but not with millenials. This could show that some idioms are being revived or reinvented among younger speakers, the British Council said. Mark Walker, director of English and exams at the British Council, said: 'This latest study into the evolution of English explores the phrases we use to express shared ideas and experiences – it shows how much English is shaped by people around the world and how it continues to grow and adapt. 'By celebrating the richness of our language, we're not just looking at its past, but also at the future of English. 'Whether for work, study, travel, relationships, or lifelong learning, as the global lingua franca, English is one of the key ways that people connect and engage across cultures.'
