In previous stories, we have explored how racial biases can engrain themselves in media. Now, a new revealing documentary called Coded Bias weaves personal journeys of people whose lives have been directly impacted by unjust algorithms that fuel the issue of racial profiling. Today, technology is using codes in various contexts that limit minorities from essential life and social functions.
In the film, this includes:
FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGIES
Facial recognition tools sold by large tech companies including IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon, are full of racial and gender bias. They have even failed to correctly classify the faces of icons like Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, and Serena Williams. Around the world, these tools are being deployed, raising concerns of mass surveillance.
An award-winning and beloved teacher encounters injustice with an automated assessment tool, exposing the risk of relying on artificial intelligence to judge human achievement.
HOUSING
A building management company in Brooklyn plans to implement facial recognition software for tenants to use to enter their homes, but the community fights back.
Despite working hard to contribute to society, a returning citizen finds her efforts in jeopardy due to law enforcement risk assessment tools. The criminal justice system is already riddled with racial injustice, and biased algorithms are accentuating this.
Check out the trailer for Coded Justice below:
