Woke company uses AI bot to monitor employee communications that aren't 'inclusive'

Intuit, the company behind software programs like TurboTax and QuickBooks, came into the spotlight on Friday after portions of trainings and a conference call going over their AI bot, "InclusivityBot," were posted to social media.

In videos of a conference call posted to Twitter by Mythinformed MKE, it shows a person talking about InclusivityBot, a program created by Intuit in partnership with Writer to monitor employees' speech on the work-messaging platform, Slack.

The program was highlighted in an Aug. 3 Medium article, with the program reportedly taking six months to create.

"And the goal was that if you were typing something in a channel, said something that was on our terms list, the bot would scan it and then it would reply privately to us saying like, 'Hey, we champion inclusion, that includes the words we use.' We would highlight the word and then it would explain why the word was harmful and then offer some alternatives," they said.

Some of the terms outlined by the presentation that would be flagged included: master, whitelist, blacklist, grandfathered, powwow, hold down the fort, and spirit animal. "So we started a word list to call out terms with racist roots at first, terms that we wanted to move away from at Intuit. The list is evolving, but by no means exhaustive. Since its creation, we've moved beyond anti-black terms to include words and phrases that have a further reach," they said.

"Did you know that 'hold down the fort' originated from settlers and soldiers who built forts in and on indigenous lands to forcibly claim and colonize them. When you know more, you can do better. Many of us evoke racism when we use phrases like this, even knowing it," they added, noting that "we aren't the language police."

InclusivityBot expands upon the accessibility and inclusion section of their Content Design outlines, which goes into using inclusive language.

Under a section titled "Abolish racist language," they state that "[o]ur decisions on racist language shouldn't be purely intellectual. That's a white privilege."

"Unlearning racist language required the work of everyone. We have a word list that guides us in removing harmful language, but this list isn’t prescriptive, and we don't rely on it as an exhaustive resource," they added.

They also state that employees should not use gendered language, suggesting instead to use gender-neutral language when referring to others.

"We communicate to customers in the second person (you), and when we refer to other people, we use third person and keep our language gender neutral, including pronouns. Don't assume that the accountant, tax expert, or other financial professional is a he," Intuit wrote.

Instead of the term "boys and girls," they suggest saying "children." Instead of "brothers and sisters," employees should use "siblings." Men and women should be replaced by "everyone," or "folks."

They also issue a statement for languages that are gender-based, like Portuguese and Spanish. "There's no neutral way to say 'welcome' in Portuguese. Try to write something like 'It's good to have you here' or 'We're glad you’re here.' It's longer but is a nice way to be gender-neutral and inclusive at the same time," they wrote.

In documents reportedly given to employees to aid in required anti-racism work, Intuit suggests a number of books and works, including the debunked 1619 Project, and The Combahee River Collective statement.

The Combahee River Collective was a black feminist lesbian socialist organization operating in Boston during the mid to late 1970s.

It also gives works for white parents to read to raise "anti-racist" children. Included on that list is Antiracist Baby by critical race theorist Ibram X. Kendi.

In a communication from the CEO, Sasan Goodarzi, obtained by Mythinformed MKE, they tell company staff not to "put the burden on your employees to educate you on how to be an ally."

Suggested conversations starters in place of "How are you doing?" included "I'm sure having a tough time right now… are you?" and "I want you to know that I care about you and want to make sure you are OK."

They stated that African-American is not the company's preferred term "because it excludes some ethnicities or national origins … That its why Intuit's employee resource group uses the broader term African Ancestry Network." They also push for the use of Latinx, a term that many of Latin descent are uncomfortable with.

They state in another paragraph that it is the responsibility of white people to change and drive change. "Listen to and believe your colleagues when they describe their experiences. Never minimize or diminish. Learn and grow from what you are hearing. Become an ally."

If employees hold opinions different to that of the CEO, they are allowed to hold those opinions, they are though forbidden to share.

"While you may have a different viewpoint from Sasan, we expect everyone's comments and actions to be consistent with Intuit's commitment to a safe, ethical and inclusive work environment. If you cannot share your perspective in a way that aligns to that commitment or your comments may make others feel excluded because of their race or any other protected characteristic, do not share," they wrote.

Employees were encouraged to report employees that do not comply with these commitments.