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‘Seeking Mavis Beacon’: Why Informed Consent Matters with AI – Essence

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raises questions on AI, ethical storytelling, and the importance of informed consent. Directed by Jazmine Jones and co-produced by Olivia McKayla Ross, the film explores the true Black woman behind the avatar who helped a generation learn to type on a QWERTY keyboard.

The duo explores the story of Renée L’Espérance, who was the face of the software. She was paid as a model, but her warmth and sweetness helped her construct a fortune. Her powerful presence caused an enormous Mandela event, which made people imagine Mason Beacon was an actual person. Jones and Ross open up about their feelings about L’Espérance being almost completely erased from her contribution to culture.

“I love being uncomfortable and trying to find a way to deal with that discomfort,” Jones tells ESSENCE. “That’s something I was trained to do as a film student. But I also think that being uncomfortable can often have ethical consequences, and sometimes filmmakers sacrifice ethical integrity.”

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“It was through collective organizing that I learned all about the work of heart-centered care,” Jones added. “I came from the school of thought that if you’re a filmmaker, put yourself into the work.”

‘Seeking Mavis Beacon’ Reminds Us Why Informed Consent Matters When It Comes to AI
Courtesy of Neon

Jones and McKay interact with Renée L’Espérance’s character with a caring presence in her absence that black women don’t all the time get in a virtual world rife with digital blackface. Ross feels comfortable “choosing to abandon the objective voice” that other documentarians present as gospel. “I think it’s important to give audiences people who need to be held accountable, because you so rarely get that in the media,” she explains. The film argues that “truth is actually fluid as hell.”

Behind L’Espérance’s radiant face is a trio of tech entrepreneurs. It’s unclear whether she understood what she was agreeing to when she agreed to a photograph shoot for the quilt of a software box. Their collaboration got young black kids excited concerning the web. But was it ethical? Was it fair?

“We can compare it to Aunt Jemimas and Uncle Bens. There are countless examples of how this has affected black people,” Jones says. The ambiguity reflects the confusion within the contracts of lots of the apps we are able to’t live without today. It looks as if we’ve got a alternative, but will we? Did L’Espérance have one?

“Our consent was fabricated for us,” Ross says.

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The hidden details of the creative process affect many sorts of people. It identifies intersectionality within the shadows. It examines what gets neglected of a story when it’s told by a hoodie-wearing tech-bro or a wise suit. It doesn’t demonize the boys behind the software. It illuminates how narratives can puncture holes. L’Espérance wasn’t asked to look on talk shows or give TED talks.

According to Jones, the main focus is on “the struggles and erasure that black women experience,” but “there are also parallels and reflections of how the glass ceiling of Silicon Valley affects all women.”

At one point, a former partner of one in every of the executives behind the software has the chance to set the record straight, not only about L’Espérance but about himself. “Everyone sees the erasure of Renee, but I think it’s very rare that we get to talk about Sandra Blake’s contribution, and she didn’t get any compensation for her involvement,” Jones says.

‘Seeking Mavis Beacon’ Reminds Us Why Informed Consent Matters When It Comes to AI
Courtesy of Neon

McKay sees the digital landscape as the ultimate frontier of capitalist-inspired colonialism, and she or he told the audience that she plans to assist Jones clean up her digital footprint throughout the screening, organized by Stop Six Stories.

“This is the final frontier; we’re running out of land, we’re running out of resources, at least renewable resources,” Jones tells ESSENCE. “They can’t imprison people fast enough to use their bodies, so they’re kind of creating these systems, these behavior modification systems, to hypnotize you through social media and other apps and things that we use to give them things that are really valuable for free.”

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Jones commented on her complicated connection to the fertile battlefield. “I really appreciate that work,” she says. “They really shaped the landscape of educational software that I grew up with.” As she fondly remembers their work, she grapples with the way it ended up on and off the screen.

“It’s also hard not to look at photos of employees and not notice that there isn’t a single black person in them.”

n is in select theaters now. Watch the trailer below.

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Celebrity Coverage

Latocha Scott sings through pain – essence

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(Photo Umbrella Griffin/Getty Images)

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Latocha Scott allows music to talk for her. The singer Xscape has just dropped the emotional form of Freestyle to Chris Brown, turning the viral #residualschallenge into confession. In an Instagram clip, all that is established-her 30-12 months-old marriage with Rocky Bivens has passed, rumors about his infidelity are associated and the pain cuts deeply.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o9nrz5DMVC

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“I read comments, I say he has a child on the way,” he sings. Fans quickly approached the severity, implied betrayal, regret loss of affection that was once unwavering.

But it isn’t nearly Rocky. Scott also extends his hand – in public – to repair the fences along with his sister and member of XScape, Tamika Scott. They have each been alienated for years, and their once current bond crashed after Tamika accused Latocha and Rocky of theft $ 30,000 in tantments from her.

Fallout played in real time, the Reality Bravo 2023 series, which after two legendary R&B groups tried to mix again on a joint concert tour. In one of the explosive moments of the Tamika series with tears, she confronted with Latocha, claiming that she had receipts proveing ​​that the missing license checks were deposited on Rocky’s account. Latocha, surprised, denied the allegations, but her refusal to directly take care of claims meant that fans questioned the reality.

The situation increased from family dispute to full madness, and the Tamika doubled interviews and posts in social media, claiming that she was forced to silence to guard the group’s image. Meanwhile, Latocha maintained her innocence, but gave up farther from Xscape, transferring her concentration to a solo profession.

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Latocha Scott sings through pain
Charlotte, North Carolina-17 July: (LR) Singers Tamieka “Tiny” Cottle-Harris, Kandi Burruss and Tamika Scott from XScape perform at a concert during Queens of R&B: XScape & SWV Tour at PNC Music Pavilion on July 17, 2024 in Charlotte, Karolina Northern. (Photo Jeff Hahne/Getty Images)

After her freestyle, Latocha also claimed that she was thrown out of Xscape – the statement that it was Kandi Burruses, a member of the group, closed quickly. While the group continues to be going forward as a trio, although at first it’s 4, Burruss explained that Latocha was never faraway from the group, but reasonably decided to go away due to continuous tensions.

Tamika Scott also weighed, calling for sharing their thoughts concerning the song. Although she admitted that Freestyle Latocha’s style was well made, she questioned her honesty, suggesting that it was a “brilliant marketing strategy for her new music,” said Tamika, leaving a spot to debate about whether the general public request was really honest or simply for attention. Nevertheless, Tamika told her sister to “drive up, let’s talk.”

Still, the web is buzzing. Some fans praise Latoch’s susceptibility, calling freestyle a master class in transforming pain into art. Others ask if public display of regret can fix the years of harm.

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Ici: Keke Palmer’s Beauty appearance and more – Essence

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Ici: Keke Palmer and Sheryl Lee Ralph's Naacp Beauty look and more

ASKRS> Keke Palmer

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Time is now for essentially the most fashionable moments in celebrity between Fashion Week, a season of prizes and magazine covers. Meanwhile, some glances required a full GLAM team once we finished a month and Valentine’s Day, sleeping hair and romantic manicures are still strong.

For example Black flexible headband. With an analogous volume Honey Afro Janet Jackson was entwined with a red gel manicure to enhance the golden accents. Then the model Alva Claire attended Baft in a fragile UPDO, which combined her curved, thin eyebrows and a blue-winged insert.

Makeup Artist Dee Carrion was chargeable for the golden lips and teeth in the quilt. Then Coco Jones’s hair was soaked in water – glass lids and lips added to the appearance. As for TEMS? The shiny French manicure was cherry on its siren and hot chocolate gloss.

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And those that participated within the NAACP rewards didn’t come either. Keke Palmer has turn into viral not only due to touching speech of “Artist of the Year”, but additionally due to her to knock out beauty: elegant red hair and gothic makeup makeup.

Sheryl Lee Ralph was on her “suit and draw” that night. Saisha Beecham Saisha Beecham worked on shiny magic, as she put it, “Sixty Fine” within the years. Finally, the hair artist Larry Sims gave the Gabrielle Union museum by some means Bobów. He wrote within the signature “It gives a film star”. And we couldn’t agree more.

If you missed this, take a look at the very best moments of beauty from the week.

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Cosmetic school: Expert for additional long nails – essence

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“At that time we only had acrylic,” Angie Aguirre says Essence, who puts ESPY-Jones in the primary episode. “We didn’t have a number of things we have today.” Starting the series, in honor of the Black History of the month, Aguirre, nail artist Sha’carri Richardson, resembles a black story for extremely long nails-at the identical time spreading techniques from the past.

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From memories of curved acrylics on Flo Jo of the Eighties to the red manicure in Donn Summer, and even the nail of Stiletto from the Nineteen Thirties about Queen Nenzim from the Democratic Republic of Congo, manicure for construction has a wealthy history hidden behind every decorating extension.

Using the attention shadows as a substitute of the airbrush machine (which within the Nineteen Nineties was a big, loud pedal machine), she recreated one of the vital popular styles that has since appeared today as a preferred look.

Often appropriated in popular culture long, loud nails are historically called “ghetto” as an offensive statement after they wear black women. Meanwhile, they are sometimes seen as fashionable after they wear white celebrities.

“We usually set up trends [and] People kick, “says Aguirre within the film while painting about traditional nail art visible within the Nineteen Nineties.” When pop culture gets it, they change what they want to be like that. ” However, “black women wore these nails long before social media.”

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Now that the nail industry is to succeed in USD 36.27 billion until 2032Aguirre explains the influence that black women have on beauty and what the longer term of those historical manicures will seem like. “Nail game has become very innovative,” he says, with latest products reminiscent of Gel-X. “[It’s] It is very different from what was during the day. “

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