Text IQ Launches AI Solution to Identify Unconscious Bias, Boost Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

As part of company’s AI for Good initiative, the new Unconscious Bias Detector is offered at no cost to interested organizations

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Text IQ, a Top 100 AI company applying artificial intelligence (AI) to identify sensitive data, announced today the launch of its Unconscious Bias Detector, a powerful software solution that accurately and efficiently uncovers hidden bias in the employee performance review process.

The Text IQ Unconscious Bias Detector, part of the company’s AI for Good initiative, uses the company’s advanced capabilities for understanding, categorizing and analyzing unstructured information to detect patterns of bias in performance appraisal documents. The machine learning model identifies potential bias in categories such as race, gender, ethnic origin and age and provides detailed reporting on the types of language used by reviewers within different populations. Organizations can then mitigate this hidden bias through education, coaching and redesigned processes based on rigorous assessments and easy-to-understand examples.

Breakthrough Software Helps Ensure Fair Evaluation

“The Unconscious Bias Detector is breakthrough software that helps companies ensure that employees are evaluated on an equal basis and that deserving workers receive the recognition and promotions they’ve earned,” said Apoorv Agarwal, Text IQ co-founder and CEO, who holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Columbia University, where he specialized in machine learning and natural language processing. “Unconscious bias is by its nature hard to identify and therefore hard to address. But if left unchecked, these biases can erode employee motivation, sap creativity and work against building an inclusive and diverse organization. The Unconscious Bias Detector enables managers to recognize hidden weaknesses in their evaluation process and adopt better practices, the kind that can lead to increased effectiveness, improved morale and lower turnover.”

“What is hidden can’t be measured or improved, so shining a light on unconscious bias in the workplace is key to unlocking innovation, driving employee success and building a diverse and enduring company,” said Ruby Zefo, diversity & inclusion advocate and chief privacy officer at Uber. “Talented and dedicated employees are incredibly valuable and frequently difficult to replace. One way to build loyalty is by making sure the workplace is a level playing field. All employees want is a genuine opportunity to reach their full potential and for their hard work and abilities to be judged fairly. By bringing unconscious bias to light, organizations demonstrate that they’re committed to fairness, inclusivity and diversity.”

“Text IQ is demonstrating its deep commitment to AI for Good and solving a previously unsolvable problem,” said Tim Guleri, managing director of Sierra Ventures. “I track all the major innovations in artificial intelligence, and what Text IQ has achieved is a marvel. The company’s ability to analyze sensitive information in unstructured data has led to a solution for an insidious problem, one that many people assumed existed but believed was impossible to root out. Organizations will clearly benefit from the analysis performed by the company’s Unconscious Bias Detector.”

Unconscious Bias Detector Availability

The Unconscious Bias Detector is available from Text IQ today and is provided at no cost to organizations that are ready to add another approach to boosting fairness, inclusion and diversity. To protect the confidentiality of employees and to build an accurate machine learning model, the Unconscious Bias Detector requires a large dataset and is thus suitable for organizations with at least 1,000 employees to assess.

“We are proud to deliver the best solutions for our customers and to devote time and energy to developing our AI for Good solutions,” said Omar Haroun, Text IQ co-founder and COO. “It’s our experience that business leaders want to provide fair and equitable work environments because it’s the right thing to do. Yet, they struggle under the explosion of corporate data to discover the insights that will guide their continued transformation. With our AI for Good solutions, companies can foster diverse workforces and reward employees who possess talent and ability – regardless of their gender, race, age or ethnic background.”

To learn more about the AI for Good initiatives at Text IQ, visit www.textiq.com/good.

ABOUT TEXT IQ:

Text IQ is a B2B technology company with a reimagined approach to using AI to manage and mitigate risks in enterprise data. Our Unstructured Data Platform helps Global 2000 and government organizations identify sensitive information to reduce risk, protect privacy and create a fair, inclusive and diverse workplace.

The Text IQ Brain, powered by our Socio-Linguistic Hypergraph, uncovers 99% of sensitive information at a 75% reduction in cost and time, and is used at the world’s leading financial services, insurance, pharmaceutical and government organizations, including AstraZeneca, Novartis, Cardinal Health, Carnival, Honeywell, and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Since its founding in 2014, Text IQ has achieved record revenue growth. Backed by FirstMark and Sierra Ventures, the company employs nearly 100 in New York, San Francisco, Vancouver and Cork, Ireland, and was recently recognized in the AI Top 100.

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Sara Black

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