Understanding the sources of variability in annotations is crucial for developing fair NLP systems, especially for tasks like sexism detection where demographic bias is a concern. This study investigates the extent to which annotator demographic features influence labeling decisions compared to text content. Using a Generalized Linear Mixed Model, we quantify this inf luence, finding that while statistically present, demographic factors account for a minor fraction ( 8%) of the observed variance, with tweet content being the dominant factor. We then assess the reliability of Generative AI (GenAI) models as annotators, specifically evaluating if guiding them with demographic personas improves alignment with human judgments. Our results indicate that simplistic persona prompting often fails to enhance, and sometimes degrades, performance compared to baseline models. Furthermore, explainable AI (XAI) techniques reveal that model predictions rely heavily on content-specific tokens related to sexism, rather than correlates of demographic characteristics. We argue that focusing on content-driven explanations and robust annotation protocols offers a more reliable path towards fairness than potentially persona simulation.

Getting a census count wrong can cost communities big. A March 10 report from the US Census Bureau showed an overcount of white and Asian people and an undercount of people who identify as Black, Hispanic or Latino, or multiracial in 2020, a failure that has led to renewed calls to modernize the census. Progress reaching historically undercounted groups has been slow, and the stakes are high. The once-a-decade endeavor informs the distribution of federal tax dollars and apportions members of the House of Representatives for each state, potentially redrawing the political map. According to emails obtained through a records request, Trump administration officials interfered in the population count to produce outcomes beneficial to Republicans, but problems with the census go back much further.

He's a certified drug and alcohol counselor who opened a sober living house at the peak of last winter's deadly COVID-19 surge and is on-site at least six days a week. She works for a production company, colonized their kitchen table for her two outsize computer monitors and has stayed largely locked up in their 600-square-foot Mar Vista apartment, where they now dine on TV trays. "When L.A. was, like, the worst place on Earth for COVID, I was going out and looking at three houses a day," scouting locations for Hyperion Sober Living, said co-owner Jack Shain. Shain's job means he's out in the world nearly every day, where it's impossible to tell the vaccinated from the sick. Cara Ferraro's allows her to stay home with the cats, her anxiety and the ever-present pile of dishes in the sink.

Alzheimer's is one of the growing diseases that cause death in the United States. More than 5.8 million Americans currently have the disease. By 2050, nearly 14 million people in the United States over the age of 65 could be living with the disease unless scientists develop new approaches to prevent or cure it. The limited inclusion of Latinos and African Americans in research will only worsen the outlook, although successful efforts across the country could help us keep up with the disease. The face of Alzheimer's disease is changing, mainly because the number one risk factor is old age.

The entertainment industry has created a narrow and stereotypical narrative of who Latinos are in the U.S. Since perception is reality, our substantial contributions to the American economy have essentially gone unnoticed, barely registering a blip on the radar in mainstream media. Contrary to popular belief, the "hot" investments of 2018 are not just cryptocurrency, high-tech drones, self-driving cars and artificial intelligence -- it's also U.S. Latinos.

The American criminal-justice system's sentencing system is among the fairest and most equitable in the world ... assuming you're wealthy, white and male. Everybody else is generally SOL. During the past three decades, America's prison population has quadrupled to more than 2.3 million people. Of those incarcerated, 58 percent are either black or Latino (despite those groups constituting barely a quarter of the general US population). The racial disparity in America's justice system is both obvious and endemic, which is why some courts have started looking for technological solutions. But can an artificial intelligence really make better sentencing recommendations than the people who designed it?

Carolina Huaranca is making a name for herself in Silicon Valley. During those three intensive days spent brainstorming new technologies, she realized she was not the only one. Huaranca was one of just two Latinos in a room of 100 people. Nonetheless, she gave birth to a start-up -- and a mission: to one day bring together Latinos so they, too, could have a shot at a career in the tech industry. Now as one of Silicon Valley's few Latina venture capitalists, Huaranca is making good on her promise by helping host Startup Weekend Oakland: Latinx Tech Edition.

Mitch and Freada Kapor have long been champions of equality. They talk about their hope for a more diverse tech workforce in Silicon Valley. Mitch was the man behind Lotus Notes and has gone on to be a big promoter of social issues. During those three intensive days spent brainstorming new technologies, she realized she was not the only one. Huaranca was one of just two Latinos in a room of 100 people.

Google employee Suzanna Bobadilla wants to encourage more Latinos to pursue career paths in the tech industry. SAN FRANCISCO -- Google is giving 1 million to Silicon Valley organizations that serve Latino students and their families as it pushes to increase the diversity of its workforce. The Internet giant's philanthropic arm Google.org is making a 750,000 grant to Silicon Valley Education Foundation to support its work narrowing the achievement gap and 250,000 to the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley to increase high school and graduation rates for Latino students. Both organizations are working to build career pathways for Latinos into tech companies like Google. Ron Gonzales, president and CEO of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, says programs like his are "low-cost, local solutions to this (tech) industry crisis of not having enough diversity in the work force."