Training Artificial Intelligences so that they are not subject to gender bias? This is what start-up ClearboxAI, recently awarded at the Women & Sustainability Fintech Competition, is all about: even in the financial sector, which is often still a taboo subject precisely in the area of gender inequality
At a time when people are talking, and rightly so, about the risks of ’IA, there is also no shortage of virtuous examples related to ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) issues. The Women & Sustainability Fintech Competition is a competition for startups designed to identify and reward the most promising realities in fintech, marked by female-dominated entrepreneurial teams and a strong focus on ESG issues, with a strong focus on the fastest-growing technology areas such as blockchain, AI, metaverse and cybersecurity.
Promoted by IAG (Italian Angels for Growth) and Mastercard, the three start-ups selected from more than 200 participants were honored during the Mastercard Innovation Forum last June 14, the main award was won by ClearboxAI, the start-up founded by Shalini Kurapati, which aims to support companies in their AI projects through the generation of high-quality synthetic data that enables them to abolish gender biases, such as ethnicity and social status, that often characterize AI algorithms.
A marginal fact?
Not really: among the many contributions on the topic that can be found on the web, we point out the interview with Guido Scorza of Sole 24Ore in which he discusses, for example, corporate recruiting with algorithms as the first filter, which reproduce disparities and influence the scores awarded.
Complicated by the low presence of women in the world of ICT. One (of many) vicious circles that ClearboxAI aims to undo, because as Shalini Kurapati says, “the power of synthetic data enables building fair and robust AI systems in the financial sector for progress that is inclusive, law-abiding and democratic.”
