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Past Event
Seminar

AI Cyber Lunch: Meredith Broussard on "Confronting Race, Gender, & Ability Bias in Tech"

Open to the Public

What if racism, sexism, and ableism aren't just glitches in mostly functional machinery—what if they're coded into our technological systems?

Please join the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program for an AI Cyber Lunch Seminar featuring Meredith Broussard, Associate Professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University. In a talk entitled "Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech," Broussard will explore why neutrality in tech is a myth and how algorithms can be held accountable.

Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Registration: In-person attendance is limited to current Harvard ID holders. No RSVP is required. Room capacity is limited and seating will be on a first come, first served basis.

Members of the public are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom. Virtual attendees should register using the button below; upon registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link. 

Recording: Please be advised that this seminar will not be recorded.

Accessibility: Persons with disabilities who wish to request accommodations or who have questions about access, please contact Liz Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

Date: Time: - Location: Room 434 A-B
Meredith Broussard

Summary

Summary

What if racism, sexism, and ableism aren't just glitches in mostly functional machinery—what if they're coded into our technological systems? In this talk, data scientist and journalist Meredith Broussard discusses why neutrality in tech is a myth and how algorithms can be held accountable.
 
Broussard, one of the few Black female researchers in artificial intelligence, explores a range of examples: from facial recognition technology trained only to recognize lighter skin tones, to mortgage-approval algorithms that encourage discriminatory lending, to the dangerous feedback loops that arise when medical diagnostic algorithms are trained on insufficiently diverse data. Even when such technologies are designed with good intentions, Broussard shows, fallible humans develop programs that can result in devastating consequences.
 
Broussard argues that the solution isn't to make omnipresent tech more inclusive, but to root out the algorithms that target certain demographics as “other” to begin with. She explores practical strategies to detect when technology reinforces inequality, and offers ideas for redesigning our systems to create a more equitable world.
 

Speaker

Speaker

Meredith Broussard is an associate professor at New York University. Her books include More Than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech and Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World. Her research focuses on artificial intelligence in investigative reporting, with particular interests in AI ethics and using data analysis for social good. She appears in the Emmy-nominated documentary “Coded Bias” and serves the research director at the NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology.