Ep.02 - Through Our Lens: “Unmasking Cultural Bias in AI”

This episode dives into the hidden cultural biases embedded within artificial intelligence. The students analyze how AI interprets beauty, professions, and storytelling across Brazil, China, and the U.S., revealing how global technologies often reflect local stereotypes. From Western-centric aesthetics to gendered narratives, the group questions whether AI can ever be culturally neutral—and how education and inclusion might reprogram its vision of the world.

Through Our Lens: A Cross-Cultural Look on AI Bias is a collaborative podcast produced by students from Florida International University (United States), São Paulo State University – UNESP (Brasil), and Wuhan College of Communication (China). Developed during an international virtual exchange, this six-episode series connects voices from three continents to explore how linguistic and cultural biases appear in AI systems and what they reveal about human society. Each episode reflects collective learning, creativity, and dialogue across borders—inviting listeners to reimagine technology through the lenses of equity, empathy, and diversity.

Credits:

Professors: Luciani Tenani (UNESP), Ming Fang (FIU), Dr. Fang Wen
Technical Support: Rômulo Borim (Laboratory of Phonetics – UNESP)
Collaborators: Yi Yang, Yifang Fu, Ziyan Wu (WCC)

Authors:
Unesp (BR): Alanys Aleixo, Carlos Daniel Araujo Monteiro, Henrique Porto Matias, Maria Paula Reatti Batista
WCC (CN): Chi, YuXin; Li, XiaoLu; Long, YuanTong; Meng, FanXue; Zhang, Kaiyuan
FIU (US): Corina Cowley, Diana Munoz, Italia Averett, Morelle Toussaint

Produced by:
Laboratory of Phonetics - Department of Linguistic and Literary Studies
Institute of Biosciences, Letters and Exact Sciences - Ibilce
Unesp - São Paulo State University "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", São José do Rio Preto campus - SP - Brasil