Unmasking AI's Racism And Sexism

Fresh Air

NPR

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4.4 • 34.4K Ratings

🗓️ 28 November 2023

⏱️ 52 minutes

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Summary

Computer scientist and AI expert Joy Buolamwini warns that facial recognition technology is riddled with the biases of its creators. She is the author of Unmasking AI and founder of the Algorithmic Justice League. She coined the term "coded gaze," a cousin to the "white gaze" or "male gaze." She says, "This is ... about who has the power to shape technology and whose preferences and priorities are baked in — as well as also, sometimes, whose prejudices are baked in."

Also, we remember former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who died at age 96 last week. She spoke with Terry Gross in 1984.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This message comes from NPR sponsor Shopify, the global commerce platform that helps you sell and show up exactly the way you want to. Customize your online store to your style. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash NPR.
0:16.8	This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley. You've probably heard the male gaze or the white
0:22.0	gaze, but what about the coded gaze?
0:25.4	Computer scientist Joy Bolamweeny coined the term while in grad school at MIT.
0:30.8	As a brown skin black woman, the facial recognition software program she was working on couldn't detect her face until she put on a white mask.
0:39.0	This experience set Bolem Weany on a path to look at the social implications of artificial intelligence,
0:45.0	including bias in facial analysis technology, and the potential harm it could cause millions of people like her.
0:51.0	Everything from dating app glitches to being mistaken as
0:54.5	someone else by police. She's written a new book about her life and work in this
0:59.4	space called Unmasking AI, my mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines.
1:05.0	Last month, after meeting with Bolumweeny and other AI experts,
1:10.0	President Biden recently issued an executive order aimed at making AI safer and more secure.
1:17.0	This landmark executive order is a testament to what we stand for, safety, security, trust, openness. American leadership and the undeniable
1:29.4	rights endowed by a creator, no creator, no creation can take away. Proving once again that America's
1:37.8	strength is not just the power of its example but the example of its power.
1:42.0	Joy Bolamweini is the founder of its power.
1:43.4	Joy Bolumweeny is the founder of the Algorhythmic Justice League, an organization that
1:47.8	raises awareness about the implications of AI.
1:50.8	She is also a Rhodes Scholar and has a PhD from MIT. Her thesis uncovered large
1:56.3	racial and gender bias in AI services from companies like Microsoft, IBM and
2:01.4	Amazon.
2:02.4	Bolamuini's research was also featured in the Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon.
	...

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