Spelman Innovator Works To Train AI ‘In The Context Of Curls’

The inability of artificial intelligence to identify the complexity of Black hair reveals implicit bias in AI training.

Bianca Burch, a Spelman College AI Innovation scholar, is leading an effort called “In the Context of Curls: to improve how artificial intelligence approaches Black hair.

The project gathers feedback from Black women to test the capacity of AI models to decipher Black hairstyles and textures, according to the college. Over the next year, Burch aims to recruit at least 200 participants to provide the necessary data.

Burch found AI image generators to be severely lacking when depicting Black hairstyles like braids, afros, twists, and cornrows. As a result, she decided to dedicate her scholarship to contribute to the ever-growing AI landscape.

The HBCU researcher told CBS Atlanta that her attempt to alter an image of herself using AI was less than ideal. “As soon as I typed in ‘Black woman with a pineapple hairstyle, the AI struggled.”

Burch’s work aims to push developers to build more inclusive data sets and to design AI tools that respect hair diversity rather than enforce narrow standards.

“The goal of the research is to highlight biases found in the current generative systems and advocate for more inclusive datasets and design practices for tools that are going to be implemented in the future,” Burch told Spelman.

In August 2025, Forbes reported on an independent study that compared three widely used AI image and face-analysis systems. The study found that, when shown images of the same Black woman with different hairstyles—afro, braids, straight hair—the tools often rated braided styles as less “professional” or “intelligent.” The software sometimes failed to recognize the same person across hairstyle changes.

Furthermore, the test showed that white women did not trigger the same penalties. The difference between the evaluation of white women and Black women when using AI points to an implicit bias in the training of the AI. Burch’s work with “In the Context of Curls” intends to eliminate that bias.

At Spelman’s Arthur M. Blank Innovation Lab, Burch and her mentor, Jaycee Holmes, are leading workshops that combine technical training with critical thinking. The exploration is about ethics as much as it is about representation in AI. Their mission is to make sure Black voices and appearances are not an afterthought in technological advancements.

“Technology should work for everyone,” Holmes told CBS Atlanta.

Burch seconded the sentiment. “We’re at the start of a technological era. All of the feedback that’s being given is important and can make a really big difference.”