inclusion
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'Grand Theft Auto VI' reportedly has a female lead
'GTA VI' will reportedly include the series' first playable female protagonist, but it might not arrive for two years or more.
Microsoft Adaptive Mouse hands-on: Inclusively designed, infinitely customizable
The Microsoft Adaptive Mouse kit consists of a modular mouse, tail, hub and button, offering a variety of ways for people with different needs to interact with their devices.
NASA hopes to make space more accessible by addressing socioeconomic barriers
It's part of a broader push by the federal government to improve racial equity.
Activision Blizzard recruits a new chief diversity officer amid harassment scandal
Kristen Hines will be tasked with helping to increase the number of women and non-binary workers at the company.
Bungie makes it easier to sue over harassment following Activision scandal
Bungie is distancing itself from its former publisher Activision by taking steps to fight harassment, including an end to arbitration for worker complaints.
Netflix pledges $100 million to improve the diversity in its shows
Based on a study conducted by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, while Netflix's shows had made progress towards inclusion, there are still improvements to be made. To do that, Netflix announced a Fund for Creative Equity that will see it invest $100 million over five years.
Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell launches a game studio
Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell has launched a multiplayer-focused game studio, Mountaintop, and hopes it'll avoid the pitfalls of rivals.
Microsoft workers say it's making progress on diversity
Microsoft's push for greater diversity in its workforce appears to be paying off, and it's not just the company's management saying so this time. The tech giant's 2019 Diversity and Inclusion report offers the first public glimpse at Microsoft's Inclusion Index, or the percentage of employees who feel welcomed by both coworkers and management based on their identity. About 88 percent had "positive sentiments" about their sense of belonging and their belief in Microsoft's diversity efforts.
Hulu hackathon leads to eye-tracking controls for Roku
Of the 40 project ideas that came out of Hulu's annual hackathon this summer, more than a quarter addressed the needs of users with disabilities. Today, Hulu shared some of those accessibility-focused concepts.
Facebook has a three-part plan for making AI more 'inclusive'
Facebook kicked off the second day of F8 2019, its annual developers conference, with a keynote about the technologies it uses to combat abuse on its platform. As the company detailed last year, artificial intelligence is key to keeping its apps and services safe. Facebook says AI is now proactively taking down more than 99 percent of spam, fake accounts and terrorist propaganda, though it's still struggling with hate speech (51.6 percent) and harassment (14.9 percent). Another area where Facebook is looking to improve the technology is inclusivity. What that means, essentially, is that it wants to teach its machines to work the same for everyone, regardless of skin color or other physical attributes.
Pinterest's diverse workforce helped it design a better skin tone filter
Last April, Pinterest began testing a search feature that allows users to filter results by skin tone. The idea being that those looking for beauty tips will be able to find relevant makeup and hair advice, regardless of their race. Today, the company is announcing that this feature will roll out more broadly across its user base, and that it's also coming to its mobile app. Not only is it a particularly useful feature, it's also emblematic of Pinterest's ever-growing efforts at increasing the diversity and inclusion within the company.
2019's emoji hopefuls include a service dog and flamingo
Unicode has released a preview list of what might end up in the next round of emoji. Potential additions to Unicode 12 include a diving mask, axe, falafel, waffle, diya lamp and Hindu temple. Oh, a flamingo and a white heart, too. Because people were apparently craving those. Most importantly, the list includes a smattering of new emoji for people with disabilities, like an ear with a hearing aid, a motorized wheelchair, a service dog and mechanical leg among others.
Apple proposes 13 emojis representing those with disabilities
Apple has proposed a set of new emojis representing those with vision, hearing and motor disabilities, BuzzFeed News reports. Included are emojis of guide and service dogs, people with canes, individuals signing the word "deaf," an ear with a hearing aid, people in wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs. "This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all possible depictions of disabilities, but to provide an initial starting point for greater representation for diversity within the emoji universe," Apple said in its Unicode Consortium proposal.
Google cancels all-hands meeting due to safety concerns
At the same time Google fired the author of a 10-page memo criticizing its diversity efforts due to "biological" differences, CEO Sundar Pichai scheduled a company town meeting for today to discuss the issue. Now, Recode and Business Insider report that he sent another email to employees canceling the event, citing websites that posted personal information about employees critical of the memo. Instead, the company plan is that "in the coming days we will find several forums to gather and engage with Googlers, where people can feel comfortable to speak freely."
Google employee behind 'echo chamber' diversity memo fired
Over the weekend, a Google employee's internally-shared 10-page document attacking a supposed "echo chamber" around diversity and inclusion went viral. Now, Bloomberg reports -- based on an email from the employee himself -- that the author of the memo has been fired. Recode has published a note sent to employees by CEO Sundar Pichai, which maintains that while "People must feel free to express dissent," "To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK. It is contrary to our basic values and our Code of Conduct." Pichai closed the note by saying he is returning early from a planned family vacation for a company town hall meeting Thursday to discuss issues including "how we create a more inclusive environment for all."
Intel is taking its fight against GamerGate even further
The most important news from last year's CES was Intel's $300 million response to GamerGate, the caustic online movement that targeted women with vicious harassment. But talk is cheap, even with that high of a price-tag on it. How has the tech titan fared since that announcement? Some 43 percent of its new hires were women and underrepresented minorities since, CEO Brian Krzanich said near the end of the company's media briefing.
Tim Cook says Apple will learn from discrimination seen in Australia store
A video hit the web this week showing Apple store employees in Melbourne, Australia, kicking out a group of black teenagers because security was worried "they might steal something." In the video, the teens (from Sudan and Somalia) repeatedly question the employees' concerns, but the only response they receive is, "End of discussion. I need to ask you to leave our store." Apple swiftly apologized and a senior manager from the site visited the students involved to assure them they were welcome at the store. Apple CEO Tim Cook sent an email to employees calling the incident "unacceptable," asserting the company's commitment to inclusivity and pledging to re-train its leadership in stores worldwide (as unearthed by Buzzfeed). "While I firmly believe that this was an isolated incident rather than a symptom of a broader problem in our stores, we will use this moment as an opportunity to learn and grow," he writes.
Gay, transgender players restricted in 'League of Legends' tourney (update)
As eSports continue to grow so too will the walks of life who participate. That's something that a League of Legends tournament organizer in the Philippines has seemingly failed to realize with the announcement of its upcoming "all feminine" event dubbed The Iron Solari. In Garena Philippines' outline it says that it's having open discussions with members of the LGBTQ community about whether or not gay or transgendered women in particular should be allowed to participate. Why's that? Fears of an unfair advantage. Yes, really.
Nintendo promises 'more inclusive' games in wake of #Miiquality campaign
When Nintendo designed Tomodachi Life, a bizarre life-sim that puts the company's Mii avatars in an exaggerated parody of reality, it probably didn't expect to provoke a marriage equality campaign. Community cries for 'Miiquality' petitioned Nintendo to add same-sex relationships to the title, but the company's initial response was sterile and dismissive. "Tomodachi Life was intended to be a whimsical and quirky game," Nintendo said. "We were absolutely not trying to provide social commentary." Intentional or not, the lack of same-sex relationships caused a stir. Now, Nintendo is apologizing officially.
Nintendo responds to marriage equality campaign for its bizarre life-sim
Nintendo has no problem with its Mii-based Tomodachi Life being off-kilter, but when it comes to the handheld game's same-sex avatars being able to wed, well, that's a different story. Tomodachi Life is all about the interactions and relationships between an island full of Miis, and as two characters' dating progresses they'll eventually walk down the aisle, unlock a bigger home and have children -- so long as one is, say, Mario and the other is Princess Peach. A fan called the gaming giant on this, urging the internet to use the "#Miiquality" hashtag across social media when requesting that the company change its stance. Nintendo's response? It told the Associated Press that it "never intended to make any form of social commentary" with the 3DS game's launch. "The relationship options in the game represent a playful alternate world rather than a real-life simulation. We hope that all of our fans will see that 'Tomodachi Life' was intended to be a whimsical and quirky game, and that we were absolutely not trying to provide social commentary."
