July 22, 2025 • 7 mins
Amber Payton sits down with Angel Bush, the trailblazing founder of Black Women in Artificial Intelligence. They explore how Bush is working to dismantle barriers in tech, amplify Black women’s voices in AI, and create a future where innovation reflects the diversity of the world we live in.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So I'm here with Angel Bush. You're the founder of
Black Women in AI. So tell me a little bit
about the organization.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Well, the organization was started actually almost five years ago,
in August first of twenty twenty, and we started and
this all started actually because of Usher.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
I don't know Usher. Usher does not know me.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
However, I was building a robot and the robot's name
was going to be Usher, and Usher was All Usher
had to do was bring me hot cocoa.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
That was it.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Nothing else, nothing else. However, when I started trying to
figure out how to build a robot, I attended YouTube
University like most people, and I started going down this
rabbit hole and I continue to hear more and more
information about AI and how it was the Fourth Industrial Revolution, right,
And so that's.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
What actually led me into AI.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
And I started attending events trying to figure out what
is this thing called AI?
Speaker 3 (01:00):
And I entered a room and it was not fully
representative of me.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
And in those moments, I said to myself, you know,
you keep saying it's the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but you
can have a revolution without black women. And that is
the genesis of Black Women in AI.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
So tell me a little bit about over the five
five years, you save ye, over the five years, how
have you seen black women evolve in AI?
Speaker 3 (01:30):
The evolution has been amazing.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
We have members on five continents, so we're a global
organization and one of the things that we're focused on
is being in the lab. We quite often talk about
being at the table, and people are comfortable with being
at the table, but for me, the table is a
facade if we're not in the lab. One of the
things that I tell people is if we're not in
the lab, that means we're not in the code. And
(01:54):
if we're not in the code, then that means that
the systems and the structures that are being built for us,
for our future, for our careers, for our health, and
all of these different places where we reside, it won't
have us in mind. And so for me, it's about
being in the lab and that's how we're evolving.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
And I know that you've worked with some major companies,
Microsoft being one of them. Is Amazon another one that
you've worked with, Yes, how do you how has that
kind of benefited I guess your your evolution into AI.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
You know, I have had the opportunity to work with
some amazing companies as you mentioned Microsoft, Amazon in video.
You know in video is one of the top companies,
and the doors have opened without me having to apply pressure.
And one thing that I love about our partnerships and
the evolution of them is that we all go in
(02:48):
knowing that this is not a one and done. Some people,
you know, want relationships with organizations. I'll just say that
for the photo app, for the Twitter feed, for what's trending,
and these organizations have made a concerted effort and have
been committed to a long term partnership, not just to oh, okay,
we did this for last week or whatever the case
(03:10):
may be. And so for me, the evolution is not
only seen in black women in AI, but it's also
seen in these companies where now their perspective is shifting.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
What do you think is causing that's causing their perspective
to shift? And I because I noticed there's one thing
that you said, and it's essentially you didn't have to
beat down this door to get in it. You just
you knocked on it, yes, and then the door was opened, right, yes,
And so it was Now it's as easy as us
just asking the question, just say hey, we want to
be here. We know that Historically it's not always been
(03:43):
that way. So what do you think is contributing to
that now?
Speaker 2 (03:48):
I think sometimes we make things more difficult than they are.
And I am a true believer of just ask. Sometimes
the door is not open because we're not asking. Sometimes
the door's open because we're not positioning the ass in
a way that people can receive. And what I mean
by that is oftentimes people will come to me and say, well,
(04:11):
what do you need? And my question to everyone is
what is your capacity? And that changes the dynamic of
the conversation because now they have to go back and
see how their capacity merges with our mission. And so
to me, that has to be a conversation what is
your capacity? And also we ask every person every organization
(04:35):
that we partner with, do you know the vision and
that is to educate, engage, embracing, empower Black women in AI.
Do you understand the vision educate, engage, embracing, empower Black
women in AI. And finally, and most importantly, do you
trust the vision? Because when you trust the vision to educate, engage, embracing,
empower Black women in AI, then you will tell someone
(04:58):
else about it.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
This is on black women. Yes, So how do we
get more black women involved.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
It's important that we start joining various organizations, not just
Black women in AI. There's a Black and Robotics, there's
Black and X. So many different organizations that are around
that will help us educate, that will help us engage,
that will help us build Black women in AI. We
are in the lab. We are building. It's not just conversations.
(05:27):
I want to know what have you built this week?
Talk to me about that. How can we help you
in your building? Because again, if we are not in
the lab, we are not in the code. And so
for me, it's a matter of how do we pivot
our thought process to understand that not only do we belong,
but we own this area. This is our new black
(05:48):
wall stream.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
So how can we get more information on Black women
in AI?
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Of course, go to our website black Women inai dot com.
If you google us simply black women in a high
it's gonna come up. You can certainly join some of
our initiatives. We have a partnership with an organization called Swoon.
It was a strategic partnership. They are a staffing agency
because we wanted to know what are the hiring managers
(06:14):
looking for? You know, if for those who choose to
stay in corporate America or what have you. And so
we have an upcoming event called a Resume Rebrand where
people learn to rebrand their resume so that those hiring
managers can look at them and they can get past
the black seed, the black hole that the resumes go into.
(06:36):
And so we're very strategic about what we do and
how we bring people in. So just supply at black
women inai dot com.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Last question for you, Yes, how are you enjoying the conference?
We're here at the COVID. I love it. I love it.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
So many beautiful, wonderful people are here, So many supportive
people are here.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
If you've never been, you are missing out. They have
a con creators section.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
They're talking about AI, they're talking about what's relevant, they're
talking about careers, they're talking about voting. All the things
that matter to our community is happening here.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Yes, it is. And it's nice to just have a
room full of us. Yes, I love us.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Oh, I love us.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
I love us.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Angel. Thank you so much for talking with me today.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your time here
in Cleveland and at the National Urban League. Conference and
we'll talk more so, thank you so much.
So I'm here with Angel Bush. You're the founder of
Black Women in AI. So tell me a little bit
about the organization.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Well, the organization was started actually almost five years ago,
in August first of twenty twenty, and we started and
this all started actually because of Usher.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
I don't know Usher. Usher does not know me.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
However, I was building a robot and the robot's name
was going to be Usher, and Usher was All Usher
had to do was bring me hot cocoa.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
That was it.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Nothing else, nothing else. However, when I started trying to
figure out how to build a robot, I attended YouTube
University like most people, and I started going down this
rabbit hole and I continue to hear more and more
information about AI and how it was the Fourth Industrial Revolution, right,
And so that's.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
What actually led me into AI.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
And I started attending events trying to figure out what
is this thing called AI?
Speaker 3 (01:00):
And I entered a room and it was not fully
representative of me.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
And in those moments, I said to myself, you know,
you keep saying it's the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but you
can have a revolution without black women. And that is
the genesis of Black Women in AI.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
So tell me a little bit about over the five
five years, you save ye, over the five years, how
have you seen black women evolve in AI?
Speaker 3 (01:30):
The evolution has been amazing.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
We have members on five continents, so we're a global
organization and one of the things that we're focused on
is being in the lab. We quite often talk about
being at the table, and people are comfortable with being
at the table, but for me, the table is a
facade if we're not in the lab. One of the
things that I tell people is if we're not in
the lab, that means we're not in the code. And
(01:54):
if we're not in the code, then that means that
the systems and the structures that are being built for us,
for our future, for our careers, for our health, and
all of these different places where we reside, it won't
have us in mind. And so for me, it's about
being in the lab and that's how we're evolving.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
And I know that you've worked with some major companies,
Microsoft being one of them. Is Amazon another one that
you've worked with, Yes, how do you how has that
kind of benefited I guess your your evolution into AI.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
You know, I have had the opportunity to work with
some amazing companies as you mentioned Microsoft, Amazon in video.
You know in video is one of the top companies,
and the doors have opened without me having to apply pressure.
And one thing that I love about our partnerships and
the evolution of them is that we all go in
(02:48):
knowing that this is not a one and done. Some people,
you know, want relationships with organizations. I'll just say that
for the photo app, for the Twitter feed, for what's trending,
and these organizations have made a concerted effort and have
been committed to a long term partnership, not just to oh, okay,
we did this for last week or whatever the case
(03:10):
may be. And so for me, the evolution is not
only seen in black women in AI, but it's also
seen in these companies where now their perspective is shifting.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
What do you think is causing that's causing their perspective
to shift? And I because I noticed there's one thing
that you said, and it's essentially you didn't have to
beat down this door to get in it. You just
you knocked on it, yes, and then the door was opened, right, yes,
And so it was Now it's as easy as us
just asking the question, just say hey, we want to
be here. We know that Historically it's not always been
(03:43):
that way. So what do you think is contributing to
that now?
Speaker 2 (03:48):
I think sometimes we make things more difficult than they are.
And I am a true believer of just ask. Sometimes
the door is not open because we're not asking. Sometimes
the door's open because we're not positioning the ass in
a way that people can receive. And what I mean
by that is oftentimes people will come to me and say, well,
(04:11):
what do you need? And my question to everyone is
what is your capacity? And that changes the dynamic of
the conversation because now they have to go back and
see how their capacity merges with our mission. And so
to me, that has to be a conversation what is
your capacity? And also we ask every person every organization
(04:35):
that we partner with, do you know the vision and
that is to educate, engage, embracing, empower Black women in AI.
Do you understand the vision educate, engage, embracing, empower Black
women in AI. And finally, and most importantly, do you
trust the vision? Because when you trust the vision to educate, engage, embracing,
empower Black women in AI, then you will tell someone
(04:58):
else about it.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
This is on black women. Yes, So how do we
get more black women involved.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
It's important that we start joining various organizations, not just
Black women in AI. There's a Black and Robotics, there's
Black and X. So many different organizations that are around
that will help us educate, that will help us engage,
that will help us build Black women in AI. We
are in the lab. We are building. It's not just conversations.
(05:27):
I want to know what have you built this week?
Talk to me about that. How can we help you
in your building? Because again, if we are not in
the lab, we are not in the code. And so
for me, it's a matter of how do we pivot
our thought process to understand that not only do we belong,
but we own this area. This is our new black
(05:48):
wall stream.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
So how can we get more information on Black women
in AI?
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Of course, go to our website black Women inai dot com.
If you google us simply black women in a high
it's gonna come up. You can certainly join some of
our initiatives. We have a partnership with an organization called Swoon.
It was a strategic partnership. They are a staffing agency
because we wanted to know what are the hiring managers
(06:14):
looking for? You know, if for those who choose to
stay in corporate America or what have you. And so
we have an upcoming event called a Resume Rebrand where
people learn to rebrand their resume so that those hiring
managers can look at them and they can get past
the black seed, the black hole that the resumes go into.
(06:36):
And so we're very strategic about what we do and
how we bring people in. So just supply at black
women inai dot com.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Last question for you, Yes, how are you enjoying the conference?
We're here at the COVID. I love it. I love it.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
So many beautiful, wonderful people are here, So many supportive
people are here.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
If you've never been, you are missing out. They have
a con creators section.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
They're talking about AI, they're talking about what's relevant, they're
talking about careers, they're talking about voting. All the things
that matter to our community is happening here.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Yes, it is. And it's nice to just have a
room full of us. Yes, I love us.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Oh, I love us.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
I love us.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Angel. Thank you so much for talking with me today.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your time here
in Cleveland and at the National Urban League. Conference and
we'll talk more so, thank you so much.
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