Artificial intelligence

X_Stereotype’s Proprietary AI Fights Racism with Data; Interview with Larry Adams, CEO, X_Stereotype.

X_Stereotype’s Proprietary AI Fights Racism with Data; Interview with Larry Adams, CEO, X_Stereotype.

X_Stereotype is a new platform combining data and complex proprietary AI, and thousands of in-person focus group conversations; its goal is to transform advertising: from diversity to inclusive, using millions of data points to eliminate stereotypes and biases.  

Less about mitigating risk, more about maximizing growth, X_Stereotype’s proprietary AI provides marketers a scorecard on their ads – even able to analyze scripts and copy pre-production – on sentiment by race, intent to purchase by race, authenticity by race and more. And many of their analyses prove a high correlation between proper representation, lack of stereotypes, and purchase intent. In other words, emotional intelligence is profitable – and with over 2 million collective data points, marketers can rest assured that they not only have the right intentions in their creative, but the right execution as well. 

The company was founded by Larry Adams, a digital marketing and media veteran–  the former head of design for AT&T and WarnerMedia, he helped design and develop HBO Max and launched DIRECTV NOW, and served as Sr. Advisor for the Bloomberg 2020 presidential campaign. Developed with a team of neuroscientists and psychologists, X_Stereotype used real focus groups and responses in natural language processing to convert into emotion and sentiment scores. The platform’s AI, learning from these focus groups and constantly improving on itself, has learned how to recognize bias in content. It can take an asset and then can predict what people will say about it – then returning an insights scorecard that can identify racial bias and risk factors in content.

In this interview with TechBullion, the CEO shares more insights into how the X_Stereotype’s proprietary AI helps in fighting racism. 

Please tell us more about yourself?

My name is Larry Adams and I’m a digital marketing and media expert with over two decades of experience on both the client and agency side. Most recently, I led the content strategy, marketing automation, data strategy, and organizational design infrastructure for the Bloomberg 2020 presidential campaign, which ran over 65,000 concurrent digital campaigns. I have held senior positions at AT&T & WarnerMedia, Mindshare, InterActive Corp, and DIRECTV. In my free time I enjoy traveling, visiting art galleries, and spending time with my wife and beloved dog.

What is  X_Stereotype and what unique solutions are you offering?

X_Stereotype is an AI-powered platform that analyzes content through a lens of diversity and inclusion. Developed with a team of neuroscientists and psychologists, X_Stereotype returns an insights scorecard that can identify racial bias and risk factors in content. 

What does the landscape for stereotypes and bias in marketing look like? Where is the problem and what is the level of demand for a solution like X_Stereotype?

Our data reveals that the landscape for stereotypes and bias in marketing is complex and varied. We have observed many cases of unconscious bias, as well as cases of potentially intentional discrimination in marketing. Unconscious bias can be seen in the use of stereotypes in advertising, where certain demographics may be portrayed in a certain light. This may include gender roles, racial tropes, or other portrayals of a certain group. Intentional discrimination can be seen in the targeting of certain markets or the exclusion of certain demographics from certain campaigns. 

Today’s marketers must be aware of the potential for bias and stereotypes in their campaigns and take steps to ensure that all demographic groups are equally represented. Additionally, marketers should be aware of the potential for backlash if their campaigns are perceived as being discriminatory or propagating stereotypes.

Could you give us a walkthrough of the X_Stereotype ecosystem. How does it work?

We have developed two unique and proprietary scores, Inclusion IQ and Bias IQ, based on over 2 million data points gathered from focus groups and demographic data. These scores provide insight into how consumers view and interact with content, providing businesses with valuable information to help refine their marketing strategies. Additionally, X_Stereotype has created 39 unique scores for every consumer who views a single piece of content, allowing for further analysis and insight into consumer behavior.

X_Stereotype also collects a broad range of demographic data related to consumers. Are there any limits on this feature? How does this help?

We collect a broad range of demographic data that helps us understand what other connections bring us together. We are always tracking changing sentiment and attitudes about how people are represented. 

Where do you see the future of the role of AI in advertising and inclusion, what do we expect going forward?

It’s undeniable that AI will have a major role in advertising. We have to include diversity experience into the development & training of AI. We believe that including this diversity experience in AI, blended with the societal shift in expectations from advertising, will drive the future of DEI in marketing. We’ll also see the importance of updating marketing strategies from “targeting” to “inclusion.” The biggest difference is that no one wants to feel targeted and everyone wants to feel included. We already see it in the media we’re served today, when we’re inundated by ads that make us feel like a walking statistic. We prefer consuming content that resonates with us and makes us feel heard. Many companies believe the goal is to tighten the range and zero-in on an audience, when it’s really time to open the aperture and expand our reach. 

How are you working to train AI to recognize bias and not generate biased results?

We’ve tested thousands of hours of content in front of thousands of respondents. We’ve also worked with a team of neuroscientists and psychologists to develop an insights scorecard that can identify racial bias and risk factors in content. 

What are you currently working on at X_Stereotype, any new updates?

We are adding new features including a Brand track to help brand managers track progress on important metrics like authenticity, inclusion, and likeability within multicultural segments. 

For more information, visit the website: https://xstereotype.com/

Comments
To Top

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This