Tech Ethicists & Critics
Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code
Ruha Benjamin · 2019 · Polity
Examines how supposedly neutral technology can encode and deepen racial bias, and what building against that pattern would require.
Cover image: Open Library.
Summary
“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.”
This book examines how emerging technologies can perpetuate and deepen social inequality and reinforce White supremacy. The author argues that automation can hide and accelerate discrimination, often appearing neutral. Presenting the concept of the “New Jim Code,” the book demonstrates how discriminatory designs encode inequity by amplifying racial hierarchies or replicating social divisions. The author also suggests that race itself can be considered a technology designed to stratify social injustice. The guide offers conceptual tools to critically assess technological advancements.
Summary based on the publisher's page ↗
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About the author
Ruha Benjamin
Ruha Benjamin is an Associate Professor in the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University.
Source: Publisher page ↗
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