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Lee Morgan and ChatGPT

Excitement is building as we plan the unveiling of Lee Morgan's historical marker.

We still have to finalize the marker text. Lee was an innovator so I asked ChatGPT, Microsoft’s AI-powered chatbot, about the legendary jazz trumpeter. With the exception of “common-law wife,” the response is eerily accurate. A common-law marriage is not permitted in New York State. In any case, Lee was legally married to Kiko Yamamoto at the time of his death.

When I asked whether Lee has a historical marker, ChatGPT made stuff up. In AI-speak, the chatbot “hallucinated.”

In an interview with Lesley Stahl of CBS’ “60 Minutes,” cognitive scientist and AI researcher Gary Marcus called it “authoritative bullshit”:

I actually like to call what it creates “authoritative bullshit.” It blends the truth and falsity so finely together that, unless you’re a real technical expert in the field they’re talking about, you don’t know.

Check out the full episode, “ChatGPT: Artificial Intelligence, chatbots and a world of unknowns.”

Coded Bias: Must-See TV

Paul Laurence Dunbar was the nation’s first celebrated Black poet.

Dunbar’s poems include “We Wear the Mask.”

Computer scientist Joy Buolamwini, founder of Algorithmic Justice League, had to wear a white mask to have her face detected by a facial recognition program. Buolamwini’s groundbreaking research is showcased in the documentary Coded Bias.

Coded Bias premiered on PBS on March 22, 2021. The documentary is available on PBS, PBS.org and PBS Video App.

The Pedestal Project

Public art matters. Confederate monuments were installed to change the narrative about slavery and the Civil War, and to romanticize insurrectionist leaders of the “Lost Cause.”

In cities across the country, citizens have organized to take down symbols of white supremacy.

In some places an empty pedestal is all that remains.

Color of Change has launched The Pedestal Project, an Augmented Reality experience that replaces symbols of hate with symbols of equality:

Contentious statues have been torn down all across America, leaving behind empty pedestals in their wake. It’s time to place new symbols in their stead. The Pedestal Project is born of the vision to repurpose these ill-conceived pedestals by using technology to help people choose the statues that should go up on them. Statues of people who have dedicated their lives to fighting for justice and equality. So that beacons of hope and progress can stand where symbols of hate, oppression and inequality once stood. And that people everywhere can have an active voice in the movement for racial justice.

To find an empty pedestal near you, go here.

Rise of the Machines: Meet Bina48

Over the weekend, I attended a symposium that featured panel after panel of dynamic black women.

All of the speakers were inspiring and motivating. Stephanie Dinkins shared her conversation with a “black woman” who wasn’t in the room, Bina48.

This was my first introduction to Bina48, a social robot modeled in the image of the creator’s wife.

I celebrate fierce black women, but I thought Bina48 was a bit creepy. But after I got home, I remembered my own experience with laser scanning.

Hmmm. When time permits, I might create a mindfile account, where “death is optional.” Who knows? Perhaps the second time around will be better than the first time.

Women in Tech