Race & the “New Jim Code”
Fall 2024
Quiz: Race, Technology, and AI
Why study race and technology?
Your thoughts here…
Critical Race Theory
Derrick Bell (1930 - 2011)
Harvard Law, NYU Law, U of Oregon Law
“Beyond the ebb and flow of racial progress lies the still viable and widely accepted (though seldom expressed) belief that America is a white country in which blacks, particularly as a group, are not entitled to the concern, resources, or even empathy that would be extended to similarly situated whites.”
Kimberlé Crenshaw: Columbia Law School
“Crenshaw’s work has been foundational in critical race theory and in intersectionality, a term she coined to describe the double bind of simultaneous racial and gender prejudice.”
Nikole Hannah-Jones & the 1619 Project
“The 1619 Project is an ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine that began in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.”
https://pulitzercenter.org/lesson-plan-grouping/1619-project-curriculum
The New Jim Code (Benjamin)
Big idea: race and racialization are perpetuated in technological infrastructures in ways that are potentially more hidden (making them potentially more dangerous).
“the employment of new technologies that reflect and reproduce existing inequities but are promoted and perceived as more objective or progressive than the discriminatory systems of a previous era” (p. 5)
Race After Technology: Other Big Ideas
Safiya Noble
Associate Professor in Information Studies at UCLA, with appointments in African American Studies and Gender Studies.
Researches the design of digital media platforms on the internet and their impact on society.
Interrogates the biases and value judgements that are baked into platforms, and how they function.
“Black COVID patients were three times as likely to have a significant discrepancy between pulse oximeter and ABG readings. Twelve percent of the time, when Black patients had a pulse oximeter reading in the “safe range”—92% to 96%—their actual saturation on an ABG test was below 88%. In white patients, this discrepancy occurred 4% of the time. Further research bolstered their findings, showing that inaccurate pulse oximeters were linked to delayed or lack of treatment for Black patients with severe COVID.”
“Facial Recognition Led to Wrongful Arrests. So Detroit Is Making Changes.”
“Robert Williams sued the city of Detroit after being wrongly identified by facial recognition technology and arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. His suit has led the police to change their practices.”
1-2. Benjamin: Diversifying Tech
Consider the following:
How would Ruha Benjamin answer this question? How would YOU answer this question?
3-4. Benjamin: The Idea of Intent
A couple of weeks ago, we learned that Kant would judge an action by the intent, while a utilitarian like Bentham or Mill would judge it on its outcome.
How does Ruja Benjamin talk about intent in the context of computing systems that perpetuate a racist system (e.g. pp. 61-63)?
If a racist outcome is an unintended consequence of an action, then what should happen, according to Benjamin?
5-6. Benjamin: Race & Markets
Ruja Benjamin examines many different ways in which ideas around race, diversity, and social categories show up in markets.
What are some examples of this?
What does Benjamin mean when she says that companies both value and devalue blackness at the same time?
7-8. Benjamin: Can AI be anti-racist?
Benjamin cites many examples of systems – powered by machine learning algorithms (ML) – that perpetuate racism.
What about ML systems perpetuates racism?
Can you think of any current or potential ways that ML applications might ameliorate the issues raised?
Do ML systems have the power to instantiate a more �principled, more just society?
Homework 1