We study how participation in collective action is articulated in podcast discussions, using the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement as a case study. While research on collective action discourse has primarily focused on text-based content, this study takes a first step toward analyzing audio formats by using podcast transcripts. Using the Structured Podcast Research Corpus (SPoRC), we investigated spoken language expressions of participation in collective action, categorized as problem-solution, call-to-action, intention, and execution. We identified podcast episodes discussing racial justice after important BLM-related events in May and June of 2020, and extracted participatory statements using a layered framework adapted from prior work on social media. We examined the emotional dimensions of these statements, detecting eight key emotions and their association with varying stages of activism. We found that emotional profiles vary by stage, with different positive emotions standing out during calls-to-action, intention, and execution. We detected negative associations between collective action and negative emotions, contrary to theoretical expectations. Our work contributes to a better understanding of how activism is expressed in spoken digital discourse and how emotional framing may depend on the format of the discussion.

EqualAI, a nonprofit organization and leading voice focused on reducing unconscious bias in the development and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), challenged corporations and business leaders around the globe to take The Pledge to Reduce Bias in AI. There are immediate actions that organizations can take to identify and reduce bias within their existing systems. EqualAI has been seeking out ways that companies can go beyond mere statements in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and commit to action. The Pledge identifies actions within a company's control that they can commit to changing quickly to create a tangible impact in our society. Organizations taking The Pledge to Reduce Bias in AI are forward-thinking leaders.

In an interview with NPR, Friar outlined steps the popular neighborhood app is planning to take to address reports of racial profiling and censorship on the platform. In an interview with NPR, Friar outlined steps the popular neighborhood app is planning to take to address reports of racial profiling and censorship on the platform. As protests swept the nation following the police killing of George Floyd, there was a surge of reports that Nextdoor, the hyperlocal social media app, was censoring posts about Black Lives Matter and racial injustice. In an interview with NPR, Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar said the company should have moved more quickly to protect posts related to Black Lives Matter by providing clearer guidance. It "was really our fault" that moderators on forums across the country were deleting those posts, she said. People of color have long accused Nextdoor, which serves as a community bulletin board in more than 265,000 neighborhoods across the U.S., of doing nothing about users' racist comments and complaints.

Race After Technology opens with a brief personal history set in the Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles, where sociologist Ruha Benjamin spent a portion of her childhood. Recalling the time she set up shop on her grandmother's porch with a chalkboard and invited other kids to do math problems, she writes, "For the few who would come, I would hand out little slips of paper…until someone would insist that we go play tag or hide-and-seek instead. Needless to say, I didn't have that many friends!" As she gazed out the back window during car rides, she saw "boys lined up for police pat-downs," and inside the house she heard "the nonstop rumble of police helicopters overhead, so close that the roof would shake." The omnipresent surveillance continued when she visited her grandmother years later as a mother, her homecomings blighted by "the frustration of trying to keep the kids asleep with the sound and light from the helicopter piercing the window's thin pane." Benjamin's personal beginning sets the tone for her book's approach, one that focuses on how modern invasive technologies--from facial recognition software to electronic ankle monitors to the metadata of photos taken at protests--further racial inequality.

That's why the announcements by IBM, Amazon and Microsoft were a success for activists -- a rare retreat by some of Silicon Valley's biggest names over a key new technology. This came from years of work by researchers including Joy Buolamwini to make the case that facial recognition software is biased. A test commissioned by the ACLU of Northern California found Amazon's software called Rekognition misidentified 28 lawmakers as people arrested in a crime. That happens in part because the systems are trained on data sets that are themselves skewed.

Dozens of Tinder users were banned from the online dating app after mentioning Black Lives Matter in their profiles, according to Buzzfeed News. Some had added Black Lives Matter hashtags to their profiles, while others encouraged matches to sign petitions or donate to causes. According to BBC, Tinder's guidelines state that accounts can't be used for "promotional purposes," so the company may have been enforcing this rule when banning the accounts. However, it has reversed course, telling Buzzfeed News that it will act upon those terms "in line with our values." A spokesperson said that Tinder has "voiced our support for the Black Lives Matter movement and want our platform to be a place where our members can do the same."

Apple's Siri and Google's voice assistant have both been updated to respond to questions about Black Lives Matter, and rebuff the sentiment behind the response "All Lives Matter." As spotted by sports blogger David Gardner, when asked "Do black lives matter?", Google's Assistant will respond: "Black Lives Matter. Black people deserve the same freedoms afforded to everyone in this country, and recognising the injustice they face is the first step towards fixing it." When asked "Do all lives matter", the Assistant will respond: "Saying'Black Lives Matter' doesn't mean that all lives don't. It means Black lives are at risk in ways others are not."

The next time you load up the latest "Call of Duty" video game, you will likely notice a new message from its developers: Black Lives Matter. Infinity Ward, the development studio that makes "Call of Duty," added a message on screen that appears right before the game starts condemning racism and social injustice. "Our community is hurting," reads a portion the message. "The systemic inequalities our community experiences are once again center stage. Call of Duty and Infinity Ward stand for equality and inclusion. We stand against the racism and injustice our Black community endures. Until change happens and Black Lives Matter, we will never truly be the community we strive to be." "Call of Duty," published by Activision, is the latest example of companies and brands using their platforms to speak out on social issues.

Dating app Grindr has said it will remove its'ethnicity filter' that allows users to search potential matches by race. Singletons prepared to pay £12.99-a-month for the'premium' service are currently able to sort users based on their ethnicity, weight, height, and other characteristics. But less than 24 hours after its tweet supporting'Black Lives Matter' received widespread condemnation over the filter, the company has said it will delete it. Protests have rocked the US for six days following the death of George Floyd, who was filmed gasping'I can't breathe' as an officer knelt on his neck in Logan County, West Virginia. Writing on Twitter, the app said: 'As part of our commitment to (Black Lives Matter), we have decided to remove the ethnicity filter from our next release.

Smart assistants are designed to tackle a whole host of everyday tasks, but some users are unhappy that this seems to include taking a stand on political issues. Amazon's Alexa has come under fire on social media thanks to the AI-powered speaker's thoughts on a number of hot button topics. Some have branded Alexa a'social justice warrior' because of her responses to questions on subjects ranging from feminism to the Black Lives Matter movement. Smart assistants are designed to tackle a whole host of everyday tasks but some users are unhappy that this seems to include taking a stand on political issues. Amazon's Alexa has come under fire thanks to the AI powered speaker's thoughts on a number of hot button topics The response has been particularly vociferous among the alt-right community on social media.