AI is, undoubtedly, an exciting & dynamic technology

Whether it's the fusion of science & engineering {innovation reminiscent of Apple's seamless integration of hardware & software], combining & connecting modalities such as translating text to images, or training neural networks to mirror biological neurons, I for one, am very excited about what lies ahead in terms of 'ethical' AI

However, AI is far from the holy grail that it's often made out to be and its reliance on small, general data sets may limit its capabilities especially when it comes to products & services built for global audiences & consumers

Questions remain as to how the water dispenser & other pieces of equipment showcased in the videos here, could have passed QA? 

Technically, it's likely that this happened because the infrared sensor was not designed to effectively detect darker skin (similar shortfalls have been observed in medical devices as well). Critics argue that this issue underscores the pervasive diversity problem within the tech industry especially where AI tools are built by third parties and then integrated into their clients' supply chains.

This is why, AI isn't solely a tech problem; this is a problem that should concern all of us given many of us serve & work with global & diverse customers and colleagues.

Organisations therefore need to embed diversity & inclusion in their supply chains too because diversity & inclusion is far more than having groups from marginalised demographics working in HR or IT while other departments remain homogeneous.

Only when we address this misalignment, will we mitigate situations like the ones outlined here.

While some of the issues outlined above may have been rectified, systemic change remains challenging.

As for solutions for tackling AI's diversity problem?  See one solution being put forward  below.