Race, Technology, and Justice: Algorithms and Bias
This guide provides access points to resources related to the intersection of Race, Technology, and Social Justice
Introduction
Safiya Noble writes that "the near-ubiquitous use of algorithmically driven software, both visible and invisible to everyday people, demands a closer inspection of what values are prioritized in such automated decision-making systems." and then goes on, "part of the challenge of understanding algorithmic oppression is to understand that mathematical formulations to drive automated decisions are made by human beings. While we often think of terms such as “big data” and “algorithms” as being benign, neutral, or objective, they are anything but." (Algorithms of Oppression, 1)
This page contains a number of resources that address the issues above. The resources here also point us in the direction of important voices on the topics of Algorithms and Bias, Race and Technology, and A.I.
Race and Technology
Design Justice (Open Access EBook) by Publication Date: 2020-03-03
Race after Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code (ebook) by Publication Date: 2019
Automating Inequality (book) by Publication Date: 2018
Race after the Internet (ebook) by Publication Date: 2011
Cyber Racism (ebook) by Publication Date: 2009
In the News
- What Google’s Firing of Researcher Timnit Gebru Means for AI EthicsWorld Politics Review (Dec. 24, 2020) What Google’s Firing of Researcher Timnit Gebru Means for AI Ethics. World Politics Review. https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/29316/what-google-s-firing-of-researcher-timnit-gebru-means-for-ai-ethics
- Machine Bias: There’s software used across the country to predict future criminals. And it’s biased against blacks.Angwin, J., Larson, J., Mattu, S., & Kirchner, L. (2019). Machine bias: There’s software used across the country to predict future criminals and it’s biased against blacks. 2016. URL https://www. propublica. org/article/machine-bias-risk-assessments-in-criminal-sentencing.
- It’s Our Fault That AI Thinks White Names Are More 'Pleasant' Than Black NamesPearson, J. (2016). It’s Our Fault That AI Thinks White Names Are More 'Pleasant' Than Black Names. Vice.com.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/z43qka/its-our-fault-that-ai-thinks-white-names-are-more-pleasant-than-black-names - 'Dehumanising, impenetrable, frustrating': the grim reality of job hunting in the age of AIBuranyi, S. (2018). “Dehumanising, impenetrable, frustrating”: the grim reality of job hunting in the age of AI. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/mar/04/dehumanising-impenetrable-frustrating-the-grim-reality-of-job-hunting-in-the-age-of-ai
- “I think My Blackness is Interfering”: Does Facial Recognition Show Racial Bias?Bowles, N. (2016). “I think My Blackness is Interfering”: Does Facial Recognition Show Racial Bias?. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/08/facial-recognition-technology-racial-bias-police
- Facial-Recognition Software Might Have a Racial Bias Problem: Depending on how algorithms are trained, they could be significantly more accurate when identifying white faces than African American ones.Garvie, C., & Frankle, J. (2016). Facial-recognition software might have a racial bias problem. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/04/the-underlying-bias-of-facial-recognition-systems/476991/
- Do Algorithms Have a Place in Policing?: How a Pakistani-born retired pilot took on a controversial, data-driven policing program in Los Angeles—and wonMoravec, E. (2019) Do Algorithms Have a Place in Policing?: How a Pakistani-born retired pilot took on a controversial, data-driven policing program in Los Angeles—and won. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/09/do-algorithms-have-place-policing/596851/
- "How the Racism Baked Into Technology Hurts Teens"Epps-Darling, A (2020) How the Racism Baked Into Technology Hurts Teens
Adolescents spend ever greater portions of their days online and are especially vulnerable to discrimination. That’s a worrying combination. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/10/algorithmic-bias-especially-dangerous-teens/616793/
Problems with Algorithms
Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism (ebook) by Publication Date: 2018
The Black Box Society (book) by Publication Date: 2015
Google and the Digital Divide: the bias of online knowledge (ebook) by Publication Date: 2010
- Algorithmic Accountability: A PrimerDonovan, J., Matthews, J., Caplan, R., and Hanson, L. (2018) Algorithmic Accountability: A Primer. Data & Society. https://datasociety.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Data_Society_Algorithmic_Accountability_Primer_FINAL.pdf
A report for the Congressional Progressive Caucus's Tech Algorithm Briefing: How Algorithms Perpetuate Racial Bias and Inequality. - Auditing Algorithms for DiscriminationKim, Pauline, Auditing Algorithms for Discrimination (December 17, 2017). 166 U. Pa. L. rev. Online 189 (2017), Washington University in St. Louis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 17-12-03, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3093982
A.I.?
Artificial Unintelligence (Summit Print) by Publication Date: 2018
- The Whiteness of AICave, S., & Dihal, K. (2020). The Whiteness of AI. Philosophy & Technology, 33(4), 685-703.
Policy and Advocacy Groups
- Algorithmic Justice League"The Algorithmic Justice League is an organization that combines art and research to illuminate the social implications and harms of artificial intelligence. AJL’s mission is to raise public awareness about the impacts of AI, equip advocates with empirical research to bolster campaigns, build the voice and choice of most impacted communities, and galvanize researchers, policymakers, and industry practitioners to mitigate AI bias and harms."