An Open Letter to Latimer AI
Dear Latimer AI,
I am trying to determine whether your approach stems from an adherence to white fragility or just plain ignorance. I hope it is ignorance, though even that carries severe repercussions. I identified several instances of white fragility in your so-called inclusive AI system, sometimes referred to as the Black GPT. Marketed as a tool to accurately reflect the experiences, culture, and history of Black and Brown people, its performance in upholding white fragility mirrors that of ChatGPT. I shared these results with you via email but received no response. This silence raised serious concerns about the sincerity of your mission statement. Worse, I learned that you are already selling this digital white fragility to HBCUs under the guise of being bias-free.
Which brings us to the point of this letter: is it cowardice or ignorance? You must be unaware of the era of scientific racism, when white supremacists fabricated the constructs of race and racism under the guise of science. Only ignorance could explain neglecting to identify white supremacy as the origin of racism. Yet, your AI, after being corrected for white fragility, admitted that "recognizing the importance of white supremacy in discussions about racism is crucial for a more comprehensive understanding of racial dynamics and injustices." Similarly, ChatGPT, when corrected, acknowledged that "racism cannot be fully understood without acknowledging the role of white supremacy." AI does not appear ignorant—just complicit in its cowardice to call out white supremacy. AI comprehends that the creation of race represents one of the earliest standardized examples of white fragility. I sincerely hope this revelation is new to you.
Now, let us examine the implications of this oversight. You recognize the problem of racial biases in AI, which led you to create a system marketed as a Black and Brown AI. Yet you produced an AI that fails to acknowledge white supremacy. Worse still, the very term racism—crafted to obscure white supremacy—is embedded in your system’s framework. And you are selling this doubly blind propaganda to Black students? This is appalling.
In the narrative of Frederick Douglass, there is a vital lesson that resonates today. Upon witnessing a white boy being scolded for teaching him to read, Douglass realized that "knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave." In other words, the first treachery was denying Black people access to knowledge. The second was, once they could read, to deceive them with lies disguised as history. The repercussions of your ignorance perpetuate this same theme from slavery. Systemic racism is nothing more than the lingering legacy of slavery and colonialism—a continuation of white supremacy through deception. Your AI system, in its current state, is a tool for the oppressor.
The question remains: will Latimer AI rise to this challenge and truly "reflect the culture and history of Black and Brown people," or will it remain another tool complicit in perpetuating systemic oppression? The answer will define not only your legacy but also the trust of those you claim to serve.
Kind Regards,
P.S - To anyone else claiming to combat racial biases in AI, I urge you to find the courage to rise above white fragility and ignorance. Any attempt to address racial bias in AI without directly confronting white supremacy as the origin and foundation of racism is fundamentally flawed and doomed to failure.