Summary of Ruha Benjamin's Race After Technology

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Beauty AI initiative involved a few straightforward steps: contestants download the Beauty AI app, make a selfie, and submit it to the robot jury. The robot jury chooses a king and a queen. News spreads around the world. #2 Deep learning is a subfield of machine learning that uses depth to describe the layers of abstraction a computer program makes as it learns more complicated concepts. It is used for image recognition, speech recognition, natural language processing, video game and board game programs, and even medical diagnosis. #3 The development of Beauty AI is just an example of how race is a form of technology. It extends beyond just attractiveness and into questions of health, intelligence, criminality, employment, and many other fields. #4 Racist robots represent a much broader process: social bias embedded in technical artifacts, the allure of objectivity without public accountability.