Voiceover artist L. Michelle McCray’s introduction into the arts began at five-years-old after singing “When You Wish Upon a Star” in a Disney play. Her first official gig, which was in radio, sparked her adolescent years. Tapping into her passion early on set the tone for her future to come. “I had been playing little pranks, imitating, and my mother would read me stories. And, I was so in love with what my mother did that I started imitating her, and then it turned into me imitating people in the news and practicing all these inflections, sounds, and tones,” L. Michelle told AfroTech. L. Michelle’s radio background and theatre, music, and media production pivoted her career as an artist, particularly in voice acting. Now, with over 25 years in the game under her belt, L. Michelle rightfully crowned herself as the “voice acting master.” In 2020, her journey as an artist took a slight halt due to the arrival of COVID-19. The pandemic hit after she moved to Boston to attend Berklee...

Over the past few years, big tech companies like Facebook and Amazon have come under fire for discriminatory artificial intelligence. Now, U.S. lawmakers are presenting a bill that will make tech companies check their algorithms for biases. Drafted by Sens. Cory Booker and Ron Wyden, the Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2019 calls for the Federal Trade Commission to require companies collecting and sharing data for the purpose of algorithms to conduct impact assessments on their privacy and AI tools. The law notes that algorithms can contribute to and amplify “unfair, biased, or discriminatory decisions” that impact consumers. For now, the bill is aimed at big tech companies and data brokers. It would only apply to companies who are valued at more than $50 million or who have access to more than 1 million consumers’ data. “Computers are increasingly involved in the most important decisions affecting Americans’ lives — whether or not someone can buy a home, get a job or even go to...