Qualcomm and Will.i.ams FYI.AI has a digital blackface problem

At SXSW 2025, Qualcomm and Will.i.am hyped up FYI.AI as the future of AI-powered messaging. Instead, it delivered something far more awkward -- AI personas that felt uncomfortably 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 relatable, giving it the "flavor and energy" of real people from different communities. For those 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-one digital assistant meant to replace all your other apps.