Joy Buolamwini

BIOGRAPHY

Why a Tech Power Player? For her critical work on the biases present in AI.

Joy Buolamwini didn’t set out to become one of the best-known critics of artificial intelligence. But while a graduate student at MIT in 2015, Buolamwini—who is Black—discovered that facial recognition software didn’t work for her face. 

That kicked off her journey from aspiring academic to accidental advocate, leading her to formulate the concept of “coded gaze,” or how the priorities, preferences, and prejudices of technologists get built into algorithms, software, and other products. That insight has grounded her work as she raises awareness of how technology can perpetuate bias and discrimination— and inflict harm—even without malicious intent. 

Her work over nearly a decade couldn’t have set Buolamwini up better for this moment. Big tech companies, such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, and AI-focused firms, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, are investing billions of dollars into AI-powered chatbots and applications that generate images and video from text prompts. “While no one is immune to algorithmic abuse,” Buolamwini says, “those already marginalized in society shoulder an even larger burden.” 

Following her experience at MIT, Buolamwini gave a TED talk on combating bias in algorithms. In 2016, she founded the Algorithmic Justice League—a nonprofit organization that spreads awareness of the coded gaze through art and research. She now serves as the organization’s president and artist in chief and takes on speaking engagements across the world. Buolamwini was the subject of the 2020 Netflix documentary “Coded Bias.” 

Buolamwini says warnings about AI are more relevant than ever before. She worries about it being used in weapons systems to target people and the military applications being adapted for policing. 

But, her biggest concern may be how AI can “kill people slowly.” 

Her first book, “Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines,” argues AI can play a role in denying people access to housing, health care, and other necessities. If AI is used to screen applicants for a job or claimants for health benefits, she says, it can perpetuate discrimination through the coded gaze— and harm people throughout their lives. 

“By recognizing and acknowledging the existence of the coded gaze,” Buolamwini says, “people can work toward mitigating algorithmic bias, preventing AI harms, and ensuring that technology is used ethically and responsibly to prevent harm and discrimination.”

— Aidan Ryan, Globe Staff