Darshana, global unbiased work records

In a world fraught with conflict and economic instability, access to quality jobs and economic opportunities is not just a matter of livelihood but a crucial pillar for global peace and stability. Darshana emerges as a groundbreaking solution, leveraging the power of verifiable credentials to connect global talent with job opportunities while fostering prosperity and inclusivity.

Darshana recognizes the dire challenges we face: people displaced by conflict (114 million) and climate disasters, workers in precarious jobs (2 billion), and the disruptive influence of technology faster than we expected. To combat these issues, Darshana harnesses the potential of blockchain and AI to create a platform that addresses the multifaceted nature of global employment challenges.

Through its robust verification system, Darshana ensures that users' identities and credentials are authenticated, mitigating risks associated with misinformation, and promoting trust within communities and organizations. By strengthening inclusive hiring practices, Darshana provides unbiased suggestions based on those verified records, to avoid biased hiring decisions, fostering a more cohesive and inclusive society.

By providing control of their data (the verifiable credentials are hosted on a sovereign identity manner) Darshana empowers individuals to participate confidently in the global economy, bridging the gap between marginalized communities and economic opportunities.

Our platform upholds global standards for sovereign identities and credentials, guaranteeing perpetual verification. We incorporate underrepresented individuals into the global talent pool through verifiable credentials (such as work and education) and sovereign identities (granting ownership of their data, empowering them to utilize, monetize, and more). Furthermore, we utilize this verified data to train our algorithms, ensuring the prevention of biases in talent profiles—a significant departure from potentially inaccurate data currently accessible.

1/ We onboard people via a WebApp that verifies their experience

2/ We provide guidance and education about how to manage those type of credentials (work, education, health) as part of guidelines of data ownership by individuals, by sovereign identities, using our platform or other interoperable tools.

3/ We offer companies the ability to search on that extended, global, verified, inclusive talent pool

4/ We provide suggestions on hiring to companies, unbiased: resume review, profiling, match, and more

Demo:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WpA8TJupWyo

Darshana tackles displacement, precarious work, and tech disruption with blockchain and AI for global employment.

Darshana helps bring hundreds of million of underrepresented talent to the global talent pool making them visible, based on their experiences and skills.

Through our community, we discovered skilled developers in South America. Many of these developers are self-taught, with experience in community projects and social initiatives, expanding digital infrastructure. Our platform uses reliable data to suggest suitable matches to global companies offering remote positions. These developers access remote jobs, bringing new opportunities to their families. While cross-border connections are impactful, we recognize information gaps within local communities. We aim to broaden talent pools transparently, regardless of the type of job, leveraging local expertise locally and worldwide.

We're a seasoned team skilled at global solution-building for Fortune 500s, startups, government, and beyond. With 90% female representation, we bring diverse expertise in technology, HR, customer relations, marketing, go-to-market strategies, and intellectual property across multiple industries. Our team embodies the breaking of glass ceilings, not just seizing opportunities but pushing boundaries further. We intimately understand underrepresentation and the journey from aspiration to achievement, even when goals seem impossible.

With that input, we are developing an inclusive-first solution aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), where every part of it (platform, community, ecosystem, interoperability, guidelines, roadmap) is designed and incubated to be inclusive and sustainable.

For example, our team comprises both technical women and women in tech, mostly for Latin America occupying roles as managers or individual contributors. We view every team member as empowered and a leader, serving as role models not just for Darshana's community, but globally. We also led several initiatives for underrepresented communities worldwide.

We have 5000+ people on our community successfully completed 5 pilots and had customers since 2022. We had a grant, non-dilutive round and raised $185k, that let us implement the platform (visual interface, APIs, scalability and interoperatibility) and the business model to expand impact to underrepresented communities worldwide.

Applying to MIT Solve presents a unique opportunity for our company, which focuses on developing verifiable work credentials, particularly if we aim to expand our reach worldwide and gain access to communities we have yet to engage with.

Currently, we are actively seeking partnerships with like-minded talent-related platforms or organizations to make a global impact on talent. Additionally, securing funding is crucial for us to continue building, establish further partnerships, and, of course, provide underrepresented global talent with services to enhance their profiles and verify them.

Integrating AI into recruitment processes has transformed hiring, offering efficiency and scalability. However, biases in AI systems present a challenge, potentially leading to discriminatory practices. We are focusing on tackling biases in AI-driven recruitment tools develop strategies to mitigate them, leveraging blockchain as a trusted source of data, with verifiable credentials and empowering people to own their data with sovereign identities. Drawing from recent research and tech advancements, we analyze biases and propose innovative approaches. Through literature review and case studies, we emphasize the need to combat biases and provide insights into effective mitigation methods. This contributes to the discourse on fairness in recruitment, with personalized options based on Generative AI, aiming for a more inclusive workforce.

1. AI for Bias Detection: AI detects and mitigates biases in recruitment processes by analyzing historical data, ensuring fairer candidate evaluation.

2. Blockchain for Data Integrity: Blockchain ensures secure and transparent storage of candidate credentials, enhancing trust in the recruitment process.

3. Verifiable Credentials: Candidates store their credentials on the blockchain, providing tamper-proof proof of qualifications, streamlining verification.

4. Sovereign Identities: Candidates control their data with sovereign identities, selectively sharing information with recruiters for accurate representation.

5. AI-driven Credential Assessment: AI analyzes candidate credentials and other data objectively, reducing bias in evaluation.

6. Personalized Recommendations: AI recommends tailored career opportunities based on candidates' skills and preferences.

7. Generative AI for Talent Discovery: Generative AI uncovers hidden talent in underrepresented communities, broadening the talent pool.

8. Efficiency and Scalability: AI-driven recruitment processes handle large volumes of data efficiently, considering more candidates.

9. Inclusive Access: Blockchain and AI democratize access to job opportunities, leveling the playing field for underrepresented groups.

10. Fairness and Transparency: Integration of AI and blockchain fosters fairness and transparency in recruitment, benefiting both candidates and organizations.

In summary, integrating AI, blockchain, verifiable credentials, and sovereign identities into recruitment processes offers a comprehensive solution to address biases and promote inclusivity in hiring. By leveraging the strengths of these technologies, organizations can create fair, transparent, and efficient hiring practices that empower candidates from underrepresented communities to participate more equitably in the labor market.

References:

1. Soleimani, M., Intezari, A., & Pauleen, D. J. (2022). Mitigating cognitive biases in developing ai-assisted recruitment systems: A knowledge-sharing approach. International Journal of Knowledge Management, 18(1), 1–18. https://doi-org.ezproxyberklee.flo.org/10.4018/IJKM.290022

2. Chen, Z. (2023). Ethics and discrimination in artificial intelligence-enabled recruitment practices. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1). https://doi-org.ezproxyberklee.flo.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02079-x

3. Friedman, E. (2021). Socioeconomic Status Bias. Detecting a New Generation of Biases in AI-Related Recruitment Platforms.

4. Rigotti, C., Puttick, A., Fosch-Villaronga, E., & Kurpicz-Briki, M. (2023). Mitigating Diversity Biases of AI in the Labor Market. CEUR Workshop Proceedings, 3442, 1–6.

5. Guo, W., & Caliskan, A. (2021). Detecting Emergent Intersectional Biases: Contextualized Word Embeddings Contain a Distribution of Human-like Biases. AIES 2021 - Proceedings of the 2021 AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society.

Measuring the impact of verifiable work credentials and sovereign identities on underrepresented populations worldwide can be assessed through, all of them are based on our estimates and can be enabled by our or other platforms that interoperate with us, as well as governments and regulation pushing it (e.g. EU 2025):

1. Access to Sovereign Identities: As we implement initiatives, tracking the number of individuals granted access to sovereign identities provides insights into the reach and adoption of this technology among underrepresented communities. 200MM 2025.

2. Verified Job Placements: As we roll out verifiable work credentials, quantifying the number of individuals securing jobs through their use demonstrates the efficacy of these credentials in facilitating employment opportunities. 50MM 2025

3. Career Advancement: Evaluating the proportion of individuals from the verified pool who transition to better job opportunities or experience improvements in their employment conditions serves as a measure of our progress in enhancing career prospects and socioeconomic mobility. 1MM 2025

By focusing on these key metrics as we implement initiatives, stakeholders can effectively measure the impact of promoting verifiable work credentials and sovereign identities on underrepresented populations, thereby informing strategies to further enhance their accessibility and effectiveness in reducing employment barriers.

Our approach includes the following: 

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI): Integrated into recruitment, it boosts efficiency but also introduces biases, prompting a need for mitigation strategies.
2. Blockchain Technology: Employed for data trustworthiness, it aids in mitigating biases in AI-driven recruitment, ensuring transparency and accountability.
3. Generative AI: Offers personalized options, combating biases in recruitment tools and aiming for a more inclusive workforce.
4. Data Quality: Ensuring representativeness, it mitigates inaccuracies and biases within AI models in the recruitment process.
5. Algorithmic Design: Flaws can perpetuate biases, highlighting the importance of refining algorithms to foster fair and inclusive recruitment.
6. Decentralized Participatory Networks: Empower communities to contribute to bias mitigation, enhancing transparency and openness in AI systems.
7. Debiasing Techniques: Applied iteratively, they identify and mitigate biases, ensuring fairness and equity in hiring decisions.
8. Transparent Evaluation Processes: Enabled by blockchain, they provide accountability and traceability, reinforcing integrity in bias mitigation efforts.

Annalisa Caballero: Community Lead. Founder of CryptoMujeres DAO, empowering Spanish-speaking women in Web3.
Laura Tovar: Chief Business Officer: Expert advisor to financial entities and tech firms, specializing in digital transformation and strategic alliances.
Natalie Gil: CEO, Co-founder: Award-winning leader driving disruptive tech adoption, board member.
Patricia Won: Chief HR Officer fostering talent development in global technology and consumer sectors.
Sara Diaz Oporto: Tech Lead, advocate for women in tech, web3 projects and emerging technologies.
Silvana Lopez Diaz: Chief Operating Officer, Co-Founder: C-level executive, global speaker on strategy, IP, and diversity.
Ursula Irribarren: Chief Experience Officer: Leader in customer support and user experience, spearheading digital transformation.

We launched Darshana in 2021, shifting focus from a previous initiative that paved the way for exploring blockchain applications for newcomers to this technology.

Throughout 2021-2022, we dedicated ourselves to developing the majority of the platform, gearing up to commence testing with both talent and companies. Our aim was to offer a streamlined method for verifying work history.

Pilot programs kicked off in 2023, accompanied by the development of APIs designed for seamless integration with other platforms. These APIs facilitate either the consumption of our services by external platforms or the acquisition of data from them.

At Darshana, our commitment to diversity, inclusivity, and opportunity extends beyond our internal team to encompass all the talent we seek to impact worldwide through our platform and initiatives. Just as we prioritize diversity within our team, which includes engineers, business people, lawyers, IP attorneys, and finance professionals with 5 to 30 years of experience, we are dedicated to ensuring that our platform and initiatives are inclusive and equitable.

In our initiatives, we actively seek out diverse perspectives and voices, recognizing the value that different backgrounds and experiences bring to problem-solving and innovation. We embrace intersectional diversity, acknowledging the unique intersections of identities and experiences that each team member brings to the table. We strive to minimize barriers to participation, providing access to resources, opportunities, and support for individuals from all walks of life.

At Darshana, our organizational culture is built on empowerment and trust. We believe in providing our team members with autonomy and support, enabling them to thrive both personally and professionally. This culture of empowerment not only benefits our team members but also extends to their families and communities, creating a positive ripple effect that amplifies our impact on a global scale. Through collaborative efforts grounded in trust and inclusivity, we are committed to building a brighter, more equitable future for all.