The Twin Cities Innovation Alliance is a left-of-center organization that lobbies government agencies to hire African American technology professionals and purchase services from African American-owned technology companies. ¹ In addition, the organization seeks to find ways to wield and influence technology ethics to prevent artificial intelligence (AI) from drawing conclusions without taking race into consideration. ²

An example of what the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance labels “algorithmic bias” is the use of neutral data such as income, employment history, and relevant demographics such as age to determine creditworthiness without first factoring in the race of the applicant. ³

Background

Twin Cities Innovation Alliance was formally founded in 2017 by Aasim Shabazz and Marika Pfefferkorn. ⁴ The organization initially operated as a volunteer-based organization, and became a formal entity after receiving a seed investment from the left-leaning John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. ⁵

Finances

In 2020, the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance received 676,167 in total contributions and revenue, ⁶ incurred $417,781 in expenses, ⁷ and held $335,040 in net assets. ⁸

Urban Small Business Alliance

The Urban Small Business Alliance (USBA) is the organization’s primary program. The program has received funding from the Phillips Family Foundation and Nexus Community Partners. ⁹

USBA advocates for the hiring of African-American workers in the tech field and contracting with African American-owned technology companies. ¹⁰ USBA has lobbied for the hiring of African American tech workers and African American companies in Minnesota’s expansion of the blue line of its light rail system. ¹¹

DATA 4 Public Good

DATA 4 Public Good is a conference hosted by the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance to find more avenues through which data and technology can be used to increase employment opportunities for African Americans. ¹²

In 2021, the keynote speaker for the event was Elizabeth Adams, Women in AI’s Global Chief for AI Culture and Ethics Officer. ¹³ Adams was previously an appointed member of the Minneapolis Racial Equity Community Advisory Committee ¹⁴ and Non-Resident Fellow at the Digital Civil Society Lab at Stanford University. ¹⁵

One of the key topics examined by the 2021 DATA 4 Public Good conference was “algorithmic justice,” which refers to efforts to combat judgments made by AI algorithms based on neutral facts, in favor of judgments which take race into account when analyzing otherwise neutral data. ¹⁶ An example of what the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance would label “algorithmic bias” would be the use of neutral data such as income, employment history, and relevant demographics such as age, to determine creditworthiness without factoring in the race of the applicant. ¹⁷

Leadership

Aasim Shabbaz is the president of the organization and lead innovator for AskC Supply, ¹⁸ a company that provides cloud and health care information-technology products. ¹⁹

Marika Pfefferkorn, in addition to her role as the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance’s solutions and sustainability officer, ²⁰ is the founder and executive director of the Midwest Center for School Transformation. ²¹ The organization is a project of the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. ²² The Midwest Center for School Transformation advocates for removing police officers from public schools and race-centered school programs that focus on developing youth lead community “impact” projects in response to the police-involved death of George Floyd. ²³

1. “Urban Small Business Alliance” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. https://www.tciamn.org/urban-small-business-alliance
2.  “2021 Data4PublicGood” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. https://www.tciamn.org/2021d4pg
3. Perkins, Cyndi. “Q&A with Algorithmic Integrity Advocate Marika Pfefferkorn” Michigan Tech. November 18, 2019. Accessed July 10, 2023. https://www.mtu.edu/news/2019/11/qa-with-algorithmic-integrity-advocate-marika-pfefferkorn.html;Bembeneck, Emily, et al.  “To stop algorithmic bias, we first have to define it” Brookings Institute. October 21, 2021. Accessed July 10, 2023. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/to-stop-algorithmic-bias-we-first-have-to-define-it/
4. “Our Team” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. https://www.tciamn.org/ourteam
5. “About” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. https://www.tciamn.org/about
6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. Part I, line 8. 2020.
7. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. Part I, line 18. 2020.
8. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. Part I, line 22. 2020.
9.  “Urban Small Business Alliance” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. https://www.tciamn.org/urban-small-business-alliance
10. “Urban Small Business Alliance” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. https://www.tciamn.org/urban-small-business-alliance
11. “Urban Small Business Alliance” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. https://www.tciamn.org/urban-small-business-alliance
12. “2021 Data4PublicGood” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. https://www.tciamn.org/2021d4pg
13. “2021 Data4PublicGood” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. https://www.tciamn.org/2021d4pg
14. “Elizabeth Adams” Stanford PACS Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society – Digital Civil Society Lab.   https://pacscenter.stanford.edu/person/elizabeth-adams/
15. “Elizabeth Adams” Stanford PACS Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society – Digital Civil Society Lab.
    https://pacscenter.stanford.edu/person/elizabeth-adams/
16. “2021 Data4PublicGood” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. https://www.tciamn.org/2021d4pg
17. Perkins, Cyndi. “Q&A with Algorithmic Integrity Advocate Marika Pfefferkorn” Michigan Tech. November 18, 2019. Accessed July 10, 2023. https://www.mtu.edu/news/2019/11/qa-with-algorithmic-integrity-advocate-marika-pfefferkorn.html;Bembeneck, Emily, et al.  “To stop algorithmic bias, we first have to define it” Brookings Institute. October 21, 2021. Accessed July 10, 2023. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/to-stop-algorithmic-bias-we-first-have-to-define-it/
18. “Aasim” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. https://www.tciamn.org/aasim
19. “About” AskC Supply. https://askcsupply.com/about/
20. “Marika” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. https://www.tciamn.org/marika
21. Marika” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. https://www.tciamn.org/marika
22.  “Projects” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance. https://www.tciamn.org/programs
23. “Midwest Center for School Transformation” Twin Cities Innovation Alliance.  https://www.tciamn.org/midwest-center-of-school-transformation