Algorithmic justice: how algorithms shape our discussion of racial justice

Algorithms, found in everything from programming for cars to TikTok, are written by humans and therefore can reflect human bias and racism. This session examines two examples of algorithms at work in racial justice: a UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries project “On the Books: Jim Crow and Algorithms of Resistance” which uses machine learning and text mining to discover racist language in legal documents; and the experience of the editors of Health Affairs. These editors published an issue in February 2022 addressing racism and medicine, only to find their advertising on such platforms as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram etc. were blocked by algorithms which detected “racist content.” Attendees will understand how algorithms influence their everyday consumption of information and/or content.