Qualcomm and Will.i.am’s FYI.AI has a digital blackface problem

At SXSW 2025, Qualcomm and Will.i.am hyped up FYI.AI as the future of AI-powered messaging. Instead, it delivered something far more awkward — AI personas that felt uncomfortably close to digital blackface.

As part of that AI future, Will.i.am demoed the AI personas of his FYI.AI app at Qualcomm’s SXSW panel, “AI is the New UI,” on Tuesday. Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor, Will.i.am claimed the goal of these personas was to make AI more relatable, giving it the “flavor and energy” of real people from different communities.

For those unfamiliar, FYI.AI is an AI-powered productivity app for iOS and Android, built for creators. It helps organize projects, manage calendars, summarize group chats, make calls, send messages, and more — essentially an all-in-one digital assistant meant to replace all your other apps.

The AI personas are part of RAiDiO.FYI, a new FYI.AI feature that simulates a traditional radio experience with curated content and conversational AI. Think Spotify DJ, but with the ability to actually chat with the AI.

During the panel, Will.i.am introduced an AI persona named “Flowing with the vibes,” meant to embody a young Black woman. Rather than a thoughtful representation, it felt overly scripted, dropping lines like, “You know I gotta keep it real with you, always bringing that authenticity,” and “Chaaa, what’s up my peeps!”

The delivery felt more like a corporate AI trying way too hard to mimic Black culture. When AI or digital media imitates Black culture in exaggerated, stereotypical ways — often without Black creators in the mix — it’s commonly referred to as digital blackface.

You can see so for yourself around the 39:30 mark on the video.

Qualcomm and Will.i.am clearly want to push the boundaries of AI personalization. The idea of AI that adapts to culture rather than imposing a corporate, one-size-fits-all approach is intriguing. It was an admirable attempt at inclusivity that unfortunately landed closer to parody, raising serious ethical questions about who’s creating these AI voices and how they reflect (or distort) the communities they claim to represent.

“This isn’t about replacing culture,” Will.i.am insisted during the panel. “It’s about enhancing it, giving people AI that speaks to them in a way that feels natural.”

But if FYI.ai is supposed to feel natural, why did it feel so performative? Meta had the same problem earlier this year with Liv, the “proud Black queer mother of two,” that had to be pulled after some backlash. Not to be confused with Meta’s AI Personas, which were also pulled but used the likenesses of celebrities, Liv was one of several character accounts for fake AI personalities.

Through his partnership with Qualcomm, Will.i.am is working to establish himself as a key player in AI, expanding his influence from collaborating with LG on XBOOM speakers to naming Jason Derulo as an FYI.AI ambassador.

If Qualcomm and FYI.ai want to push AI forward, they need to do more than just remix identity.