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AI from Above
An aerial picture can tell a thousand stories. But who gets to tell them? From above the clouds, our world is surveilled and datafied. Those who control the data, control the narratives. We explore the legacy of spatial apartheid in South Africa’s townships, and hear from people around the world who are reclaiming power over their own maps.
Who’s in this episode?
Raesetje Sefala is mapping the legacy of spatial apartheid in South Africa as a research fellow with the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR) founded by Timnit Gebru.
Astha Kapoor researches how communities and organizations can be ‘stewards’ of data about people and places as co-founder of the Aapti Institute in India.
Michael Running Wolf is the founder of Indigenous in AI working on speech recognition and immersive spatial experiences with augmented and virtual reality in Canada.
Denise McKenzie is a location data expert who works with the global mapping organization PLACE to empower governments and communities to use advanced spatial data.
Further reading
About IRL
IRL is an original podcast from Mozilla, the non-profit behind Firefox. In this season that doubles as Mozilla’s 2022 Internet Health Report, our host Bridget Todd, shares stories of people who are building and regulating AI systems in more equitable ways.
Tell us what you think
Tell us what you think
We’d love to hear what ideas this year’s report sparked for you. Do you build or research AI? Do you work on AI policy? Which podcast episodes inspired you or challenged you? If you send us a comment in this form, we guarantee it will be read by a human.
