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Race after technology : abolitionist tools for the new Jim Code
2019
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In this work, Benjamin (Princeton Univ.) introduces readers to "the New Jim Code," essentially a racialized way of using coding and algorithms to contribute to racial inequities and shape bioinformatics. The author has written a superbly provocative and timely exploration of race, technology, politics, and ethics. Elaborating on the concept of "the New Jim Code," which lies at the center of Benjamin's study, the author details how a series of coding and algorithm tools reflect online the same racial disparities experienced offline. However, coders and other members of the technological community do not necessarily purposely create these divisions online. Rather, by ignoring the implications of racism and division and by treating technology as a neutral tool, those concerned with the creation and use of technology end up inadvertently increasing division, further hurting vulnerable communities and supporting the growth of discrimination. Benjamin has broken new ground with this volume, which is a crucial read for a wide audience, including novice consumers of technology all the way to the most experienced coders and creators. Summing Up: Essential. All readership levels. --Leslie T Grover, Southern University and A&M College
Summary

From everyday apps to complex algorithms, Ruha Benjamin cuts through tech-industry hype to understand how emerging technologies can reinforce White supremacy and deepen social inequity.

Benjamin argues that automation, far from being a sinister story of racist programmers scheming on the dark web, has the potential to hide, speed up, and deepen discrimination while appearing neutral and even benevolent when compared to the racism of a previous era. Presenting the concept of the "New Jim Code," she shows how a range of discriminatory designs encode inequity by explicitly amplifying racial hierarchies; by ignoring but thereby replicating social divisions; or by aiming to fix racial bias but ultimately doing quite the opposite. Moreover, she makes a compelling case for race itself as a kind of technology, designed to stratify and sanctify social injustice in the architecture of everyday life.

This illuminating guide provides conceptual tools for decoding tech promises with sociologically informed skepticism. In doing so, it challenges us to question not only the technologies we are sold but also the ones we ourselves manufacture.

Visit the book's free Discussion Guide: www.dropbox.com

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