Looking to learn more about or engage with Mozilla Fellows and Awardees around the world? Keep your eye on the Mozilla Foundation blog to stay up-to-date with regular updates about these leaders and their work by reviewing the current and upcoming news and announcements below.

AI and internet health

News from current fellows and awardees

• Zoom addresses privacy concerns raised by AI data collection language in terms of service — featuring senior fellow Bogdana Rakova in NBC News
• Will Politicians Ban Their Best Way of Reaching Young Voters? — featuring senior fellow Brandi Geurkink in Politico
• Facial recognition is present in all states of Brazil— featuring senior fellow Tarcizio Silva in Folha de Pernambuco
• In a debate on algorithmic racism, black researchers point to damage ranging from public safety to the economy — featuring senior fellow Tarcizio Silva in Terra
• Kiswahili at the center of digital advancement, Artificial Intelligence— featuring fellow Kathleen Siminyu in Sierra Leone Telegraph
• Is YouTube really directing us to hateful content?— featuring senior fellow Brandi Geurkink in Le Temps

Alum news

• AI hysteria is a distraction: algorithms already sow disinformation in Africa — featuring Tech and Society alum Odanga Madung in The Guardian
• This Is a Reminder That You’re Probably Oversharing on Venmo— featuring alum Hang Do Thi Duc in New York Times
• New AI gaydar can detect someone’s sexuality with 81 per cent accuracy— featuring senior fellow alum Abeba Birhane in Screenshot Mag
• Why these African countries are banning social media platforms | DW News Africa— featuring Tech and Society alum Odanga Madung in Deutsche Welle
• Washington crowned a bunch of rich dudes the most important people in AI — featuring alum Deb Raji in Insider
• Harvard Alum Launches ‘Hot or Not’ Spinoff With AI-Generated Women, Prompting Backlash— featuring senior fellow alum Abeba Birhane in The Messenger
• Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in AI—featuring alumni Deb Raji, Abeba Birhane, and Stephanie Dinkins
• Tech Titans Zuckerberg, Musk, Altman Bring AI Debate to Washington—featuring alum Deb Raji in Wall Street Journal
• In Africa, algorithms have long amplified disinformation—featuring alum Odanga Madung in NextINPact
• Is Venmo Safe to Use or Is Your Money at Risk?—featuring alum Hang Do Thi Duc in Make Use Of
• Dr. Abeba Birhane: Advocating For AI That Centers Marginalized Groups—senior fellow alum Abeba Birhane

Program Updates

• Listen to the trailer: Season 7 of Mozilla’s IRL podcast. In season 7, we talk to people building trustworthy alternatives to the AI advanced by trillion-dollar companies with far too much power over the internet and our lives. We hear from trailblazers and visionaries who are leveraging tech for the common good, and showing others how it can be done.
• Senior program officer Koliwe Majama shared a reflection of accomplishments by Mozilla's Senior Fellows in 2023: Collaboration and Impact on Trustworthy AI: A Review of Mozilla's Senior Fellowships
• The Mozilla Foundation is excited to announce that applications are now being accepted for Alumni Connection Grants—applications are open until 16th of October
• Mozilla will conduct a Creative Media Awards Retrospective. The report will tell the stories of our cohorts; analyze the individual and collective impacts of Creative Media Award projects from 2017 to 2022; and assess the program’s influence geographically along with its role fueling Mozilla’s Theory of Change. You can read more about our plans here.
• MozFest House Kenya took place in Nairobi on 21st and 22nd of September. Speakers explored the landscape of AI in Africa in terms of labour, content moderation, marginalization and structural interventions. If you missed it live, you can still catch the Dialogues and Debates panels on Mozilla's LinkedIn page, Mozilla Festival Plaza, and YouTube.
• Read the new issue of Branch magazine, edited by Mozilla alumni Fieke Jansen and Maya Richman, which includes reflections from our Green Screen Coalition convening in Costa Rica and an article by Hanan Elmasu and Michael Brennan from Ford Foundation.
• Profits are placed above people, especially in Africa— an interview with Senior Program Officer Chenai Chair in Der Spiegel
• How to fix content moderation in Africa— an interview with Senior Program Officer Roselyn Odoyo for CNBC News Africa