This morning I joined ROTA’s webinar, Responsible AI Through a Racial Lens, with Dr Mark Wong of the University of Glasgow.
It raised an urgent question for those of us working in anti-racist spaces:
As AI becomes embedded in public life, who is watching what it does to Black and Global Majority communities?
AI is often presented as neutral, efficient and inevitable. But as Dr Wong set out, the evidence shows it can reproduce and intensify racism across healthcare, policing, recruitment, education and social care.
At Olmec, this lands in a very practical way.
Through our leadership development work, we support Black and Global Majority leaders stepping into boardrooms, senior roles and decision-making spaces. Increasingly, those spaces are shaped by AI — and by a narrative that AI is inherently positive, objective or simply “the future”.
That creates a real challenge.
It is hard enough to raise issues affecting our communities in spaces that are uncomfortable talking about race. It is even harder when the issue is technical, fast-moving and often presented as beyond question.
But these are governance questions.
Who was this system trained on?
Who might it fail?
Has it been tested with Black and Global Majority communities?
What happens when it gets something wrong?
Who benefits — and who carries the risk?
We do not all need to become AI experts. But Black and Racialised leaders do need the confidence to ask sharper questions.
The risks are not theoretical. AI tools are already being used to summarise reports, support decisions, screen applicants, assess risk and shape public services. If left unchallenged, they may quietly reinforce the inequalities already built into our institutions.
The pace of change can feel overwhelming. The answer is not to track every development, but to stay connected to trusted voices and organisations.
Dr Wong suggested some places to start:
ROTA: https://www.rota.org.uk/
Ada Lovelace Institute: https://lnkd.in/eEpXes_2
Alan Turing Institute: https://www.turing.ac.uk/
AI Now Institute: https://lnkd.in/eDV9ht5J
AlgorithmWatch: https://lnkd.in/eK6Zkyrc
And thinkers such as:
Dr Mark Wong: https://lnkd.in/eP6RpTDr
Ruha Benjamin: https://lnkd.in/e3reNtNN
Timnit Gebru / DAIR Institute: https://lnkd.in/eu23hPAC
Safiya Noble: https://safiyaunoble.com/
Joy Buolamwini / Algorithmic Justice League: https://www.ajl.org/
Abeba Birhane: https://abebabirhane.com/
Toju Duke: https://lnkd.in/e_GUqSsv
There is no simple playbook yet. But doing nothing is not neutral.
For Black and Global Majority leaders, staying informed about AI is becoming part of leadership practice.
Because this is not just about technology.
It is about who gets to decide what the future looks like — and who it works for.
