Benjamin, Ruha
1978-present · Contribution: 2013-present
Sociologist & Author (Science, Technology & Society)
Coined the concept of the “New Jim Code” in her 2019 book Race After Technology, a framework for understanding how supposedly neutral algorithms and AI systems encode and amplify racial bias
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Quick facts
- Born
- 1978
- Active since
- 2013
- Category
- AI & Social Media
- Best known for
- “New Jim Code”Race After TechnologyJust Data Lab
Impact on the world
Benjamin gave researchers, journalists, and the public a durable vocabulary for understanding algorithmic bias just as AI systems began shaping daily life. Her framework became one of the most widely cited critiques of how technology can reproduce racial hierarchies.
An alternative history
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Sources
- Source lookupFind
Princeton Department of African American Studies
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Related visionaries
Noble, Safiya Umoja
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Co-founded the Deep Learning Indaba in 2017, a grassroots organization that has grown into the largest pan-African AI research and community-building movement, while working as a senior AI research director at Google DeepMind
Cissé, Moustapha
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