Jazmin Jones knew what she was doing. “If you’re online, there’s going to be trolling,” said Jones, the director behind Search for Mavis Beaconsaid at a recent panel for her new documentary. “For this project, some things we’re taking extremely seriously… and other things we’re trolling. We’re trolling the idea of a detective because we’re like, ACAB“ .
However, her trolling was for good reason. Jones and filmmaker Olivia Mckayla Ross did so in the hopes of finding the woman behind Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing.
The popular teaching tool was released in 1987 by The Software Toolworks, a California-based software and video game company that makes educational chess, reading, and math games. Mavis, essentially the game’s “mascot,” is a black woman dressed in professional clothing and wearing her hair in a bun. While Mavis Beacon isn’t a real person, Jones and Ross say she was one of the first examples of black representation they saw in technology. Search for Mavis BeaconLaunching in New York City on August 30 and rolling out to other cities in September, is their attempt to explore the story behind the face, which appears on the tool’s packaging and then becomes part of the interface.
The film sees the pair setting up a detective agency, chatting on FaceTime, running into people on the street, and even tracking down a relative who may be related to the elusive Mavis. But their search raises another question they didn’t initially expect: What are the implications of sexism, racism, privacy, and exploitation in a world where you can express yourself in any way you want?
Using computer screen footage, close-up archival footage, and live interviews, the noir-style documentary reveals that Mavis Beacon is actually Renée L’Espérance, a black model from Haiti. paid $500 to get her picture no royalties, even though the program sold millions of copies.
Creating artificial images of people from minority groups is not unique to Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. Major brands have used these images to generate both fame and money without giving credit to the real people behind the inspiration.
“Lil Miquela”, an AI-generated music artist with about 2.5 million followers on Instagram, appears in advertising for BMW. MSI, which recently partnered with artificial influencers to promote OLED displays, noted on a web page touted the collaboration that Lil’ Miquela has “a rich heritage of being half Brazilian and half Spanish.” Bot AI reported earn millions of dollars a year as influencers. Meanwhile, BIPOC social media influencers report earning up to 67 percent less than white influencers per Instagram post, according to findings released last year by the public relations firm MSL Group.
Another example is Shudu Gramwho, according to her Instagram account, is known as “the world’s first digital supermodel.” Debuting in 2017, Shudu is tall and thin with very dark skin. She looks even more human than Lil Miquela, but she’s not. At a time when black models still face challenges in the fashion industry, Gram has appeared in Vogue Czechoslovakia, in partnership with Sony Pictures, and attracted 239,000 followers on Instagram.
