One of our IAC keynote speakers tells us that search engines are racist, the other that artificial intelligence can’t replace humans. Both help us recalibrate our shared responsibilities as professionals and practitioners.
Safiya Umoja Noble’s Algorithms of Oppression challenges the idea that search engines like Google offer an equal playing field for ideas, identities, and activities. Technology—from policing software or facial recognition to social media platforms of all stripes—not only singles out women and people of color, but also perpetuates harm to various communities and accelerates the spread of misinformation.
Sarah T. Roberts reminds us of the illusion of volition. There are humans silenced under contract, dispersed across the globe, hired by the tech companies to moderate and remove offensive content generated by social media users. Her intensive ethnographic study, Behind the Screen: Content Moderation in the Shadows of Social Media, explores the people protecting us from the worst of the Internet.
Join IAC21 in April 2021 for a fireside chat with Drs. Noble and Roberts and expand your worldview and perspective on information architecture and understanding of the -isms that we seek to break.
Safiya and Sarah are among a host of other compassionate, courageous, brilliant, and inspirational speakers that we will feature at IAC21 in April 2021. Join the conversation and register today.
