Joy Buolamwini
Founder of the Algorithmic Justice League; author of 'Unmasking AI' (2023); 'Gender Shades' researcher
Algorithmic Justice League
Ethics and justice
Buolamwini's research showed commercial face-recognition systems failed most on darker-skinned women, and her advocacy helped push several companies out of the police market. She calls AI's victims 'the excoded' and argues that documented harms happening today matter more than hypothetical machine takeovers.
Declines to give a number
No number. "Existing AI systems that cause demonstrated harms are more dangerous than hypothetical 'sentient' AI systems because they are real." (MIT Technology Review excerpt, October 30, 2023)Source
On timing
Focuses on present-tense harms ('the excoded') rather than AGI timing; argues companies claiming existential fears should 'show a genuine commitment to safeguarding humanity by not releasing the AI tools they claim could end humanity' (2023).
SourceWhat they call for
- Limits or bans on facial recognition in policing
- Algorithmic audits and bias testing
- Civil rights based AI regulation
- Affected communities included in governance
In their own words
"Reaching academics and industry insiders is simply not enough. We need to make sure everyday people at risk of experiencing AI harms are part of the fight for algorithmic justice."
30 October 2023
"AI should be for the people and by the people, not just the privileged few" / "The rising frontier for civil rights will require algorithmic justice."
31 October 2023