FinTech’s contradiction and the growing inequality

Came across this quote the other day.

“The world is a contradiction; the universe a paradox.” ~ Kedar Joshi

And perhaps a dose of confusion?

Take AI for example. Behind the brilliant minds and the tech that delivers seemingly effortless customer experience lies the hard labor of many humans who perform tedious repetitive tasks to make AI work, from labeling images to help with computer vision, to moderating content for social media giants. These remote microworkers, or ghost workers, are often underpaid and hidden behind the veneer of the magic of AI. Yet, their efforts are crucial in keeping the lights on in the digital world, encoding human intelligence inside software applications to power algorithms that many of us have come to rely on, while generating massive profits for those who own the tech.

USD $93.5 billion: Private investment in AI in 2021 totaled around $93.5 billion, more than double the total private investment in 2020, according to Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI) 2022 AI Index Report.?

USD $4.43 per hour: According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), microworkers earned an average of $4.43 an hour when only paid work was considered, and $3.31 per hour when total paid and unpaid hours were considered. While workers in North America earned an average of $4.70 (still lower than the minimum wage), earnings varied between $1.33 (Africa) and $2.22 (Asia and the Pacific) per hour of paid and unpaid work.?

Just how much do we value human intelligence? A whopping $1 per hour, according to workers who are training data for self-driving cars.

“For a penny, you might pay someone to tell you whether there is a human in a photo.” ~ Jeff Bezos at MIT World.

When the role of humans is obscured and the fruits of their labor are not only disconnected from the vast machinery that they serve, but themselves being interchangeable with thousands of others vying for the same work, I can’t help but wonder, is this truly the promised land that we had hoped for, one where exploited laborers around the world compete to get on the hamster wheel of their digital overlords??

I digress.

Speaking of contradictions, there is another one that many of my colleagues should be familiar with. Remember how FinTech started and the promise to change the status quo of banking??

85 Percent: Women make up more than half of the U.S. population and control 85% of consumer spending. Globally, women control over $31.8 trillion in spending.

6 Percent: Despite the purchasing power, only 12% of global FinTech founders and co-founders are women, and only 6% of FinTechs have female CEOs. Despite a surge in funding in recent years, female-founded startups received only 2.1% of the total capital invested in venture-backed startups in the US., according to data from Pitchbook. More disappointingly, this represents the smallest share since 2016, against the backdrop of increased awareness and drive to diversify the ecosystem.?

Source: Pitchbook

But there were some bright spots. Most notably, 83 new women-led and -founded unicorns were created last year worldwide, more than four times the number compared to 2020, representing 15% of the year's 595 new unicorns overall.

With women comprising less than 10% of partners at the 100 largest venture capital firms, however, it might be quite a while before we see meaningful progress.

“Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.” ~ Helen Keller

So, dear allies. Yes, I am looking at you.?

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On this week's One Vision:

One step forward, two steps back. Despite increasing awareness and promises from corporations, metrics such as the gender pay gap and funding for female founders have barely budged. How then, can we truly move the needle for workplace gender equality in financial services and beyond?

In this episode of One Vision, available via Apple, Spotify, and other players, I chat with Nadia Edwards-Dashti, co-founder of the Harrington Starr Group, on her new book, FinTech Women Walk the Talk. As Nadia pointed out, FinTech, as an industry, has always been about driving changes. Together, we can ignite the passion of our allies, and build an ecosystem that is fully representative of the diversity of the society whom we serve.

Give this a listen and let us know what you think.

"Walking the talk and driving authentic inclusion"

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If you are interested in more #BeyondGood stories of inspiration and hope, check out our book Beyond Good here.?

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