Overcoming Algorithmic Racism

“Algorithmic racism occurs when contemporary big data practices generate results that reproduce and spread racial disparities, shifting power and control from Black and brown people and communities.

This report aims to help policymakers, movement leaders, and thinkers better understand and address the challenges posed by data capitalism and the ways it is fundamentally intertwined with systemic racism. The report describes the core problem of data capitalism, surveys its roots in history, and briefly examines how it manifests today in the workplace, consumer marketplace, and public sphere. We show that the evolving system of data capitalism is not the inevitable result of technological progress, but rather the result of policy decisions. This brief will highlight key policy shifts needed to ensure that potent technological tools no longer concentrate the might of a white-dominated corporate power structure, but are instead used in ways that will benefit Black lives. We know that when Black lives truly matter, everyone will benefit. Finally, we conclude with a look at groups mobilizing to challenge data capitalism, vividly illustrating that our current path is not inevitable.”

See the full article on the Demos.org site.