Qualcomm and will.i.am’s fyi.ai has a digital blackface problem

At SXSW 2025. INTEAD, it delivered some more awkward – ai personas that felt uncomfortable close to Digital BlackFace,

As part of that ai future, will.i.am demoed the ai personas of his Fyi.ai App at Qualcomm’s SXSW PANEL, “AI is the new UI,“on tuesday. Powered by Qualcomm’s snapdragon processor, will.i.am claimed the goal of these personas was to make ai more relevant, giving it the” flavor and energy “of real friend Communities.

For there unfamiliar, Fyi.ai is an AI-Powered Productivity App for iOS and Android, Built for Creators. IT Helps Organize Projects, Manage Calendars, Summarize Group Chats, Make Calls, Send Messages, and More-Essentially an all-in-in-in digital assistant meant to replace.

The AI ​​Personas are part of Raidio.fyiA new fyi.ai feature that simulates a traditional radio experience with curved content and conversational ai. Think spotify dj, but with the ability to actually chat with the ai.

During the panel, will.i.am introduced an ai persona named “Flowing with the vibes,” meant to embody a young black woman. Rather than a thoughtful representation, it felt overly scripted, dropping lines like, “You know I Gotta Keep It Real with You, Alays Bringing that Authenticity,” And “Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

The delivery felt more like a corporate ai trying way to mimic black culture. When Ai or digital media imitates black culture in exaggerated, stereotypical ways – often with black creaters in the mix – it’s commonly referred to as digital blackFace.

You can see so for yourself Around The 39:30 mark on the video.

Qualcomm and will.i.am clearly want to push the boundaries of ai personalization. The idea of ​​ai that adapts to culture rather than imposing a corporate, one-size-fits-short approach is intriguing. It was an admiral attempt at necessary that unfortunately landed closer to parody, raising serial educal questions about who’s creating these AI VOICES and How to Reflects Claim to represent.

“This isn’t about replacing culture,” will.i.am insisted during the panel. “It’s about enhancing it, giving people ai that speakes to them in a way that feels natural.”

But if fyi.ai is supposed to feel natural, why did it feel so perform? Meta had the same problem earlier this year with LIV, The “Proud Black Queer Mother of Two,” That Had to be pulled after some backlash. Not to be confused with Meta’s Ai PersonasWhich was also pulled but used the likenesses of celebrities, Liv was one of Several Character Accounts for Fake Ai Personalities.

Through his partnership with Qualcomm, will.I.AM is working to establish Himself as a key player in Ai, expanding his influence from collaborating with lg on xboom speakers to naming jason derulo as an fyi.ai ambassador.

If Qualcomm and fyi.ai was ai forward, they need to do more than just remix identity.