News Story

KMi Researchers Take Part in DATATHON AGAINST RACISM

Kiran Parmar, Tuesday 26 Apr 2022

We are an incredibly diverse research lab, with around 20 nationalities within our 60-80 personnel. KMi’s Joseph Kwarteng, Angel Pavon-Perez, Martino Mensio, and Paula Reyero-Lobo competed in a challenge to build a model that can detect racist language over text messages, against 9 other teams. The Datathon was hosted by BCN Analytics, and kicked off on the 25th of March 2022 in Barcelona, and ended on the 1st of April.

The main challenge for the Datathon was to build a model that can automatically classify text messages as Racist or not Racist. These messages were provided in Spanish, and every team had a week to complete their model. The Datathon gave KMi’s members the opportunity to showcase the labs’ expertise and our ethics, which is a huge facet of KMi culture, as we are committed to continually improving how we promote fairness and equality. KMi researcher Paula Reyero-Lobo said, “I feel privileged to work with such a diverse team that shares the same values. I am grateful for this project, as I feel we have been able to take another step towards more inclusive technology”.

The outcomes of the Datathon will be promoted for positive social impact and KMi’s contribution will be available to any organization that may wish to use it. We are incredibly proud of KMi members’ work to fulfil the lab’s values and constantly strive for equality, diversity, and inclusivity.