HALT AI: Using AI to Make Fashion & Beauty Marketing More Inclusive
HALT AI is a startup I co-founded with Professor Parham Aarabi of the University of Toronto. HALT AI started out on a mission to detect bias in algorithms. For this work, we received recognition from Twitter, Wired, CBC, CNBC, Engadget, and more.
Later, we pivoted to using facial recognition and machine learning to audit the diversity of visual content so brand managers and marketing teams could get an aerial, 360-degree view of exactly who is in their advertising to uplevel their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. At the end of 2022, we sold the data from HALT AI to a Fortune 500 global beauty brand and an American multinational technology company.
Read about HALT AI in Wired: “Twitter hands out ‘bug bounties’ to fight algorithm bias”
Read about HALT AI in Fashion United: “Female-led start-up removes the bias from artificial technology in fashion”
“Amanda is a thoughtful leader with a knack for communicating emerging technology. As the founder of ModiFace, I witnessed her talent for journalism and passion for communicating augmented reality and its use cases for the beauty industry. Later, I worked with a startup she had founded focused on bias detection. Her skillset at the intersection of media, marketing, fashion, beauty and technology resulted in her ability to sell the data from that startup and swiftly exit. I can’t wait to see what she does next!”
— Dr Parham Aarabi, Founder of ModiFace (acquired by L'Oréal) and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto
