Joy Buolamwini: How Do Biased Algorithms Damage Marginalized Communities?

Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode Black History ... And The Future

Data, numbers, algorithms are supposed to be neutral... right? Computer scientist Joy Buolamwini discusses the way biased algorithms can lead to real-world inequality. A version of this segment was originally heard in the episode Warped Reality.

About Joy Buolamwini

Joy Buolamwini is a graduate researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who researches algorithmic bias in computer vision systems. She founded the Algorithmic Justice League to create a world with more ethical and inclusive technology.

Buolamwini serves on the Global Tech Panel convened by the vice president of European Commission to advise world leaders and technology executives on ways to reduce the harms of AI. In late 2018, in partnership with the Georgetown Law Center on Privacy and Technology, she launched the Safe Face Pledge, the first agreement that prohibits the lethal application of facial analysis and recognition technology.

She holds two masters degrees from Oxford University and MIT as well as a bachelor's degree in computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. [Copyright 2021 NPR]