Coded Bias
Sloan Foundation Film
Release Date
2020
Film Synopsis
An exploration of the implications of MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini's startling discovery that racial bias is written into the code of facial recognition algorithms.
Modern society sits at the intersection of two crucial questions: What does it mean when artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly governs our liberties? And what are the consequences for the people AI is biased against? When MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini discovers that most facial-recognition software does not accurately identify darker-skinned faces and the faces of women, she delves into an investigation of widespread bias in algorithms. As it turns out, AI is not neutral, and women are leading the charge to ensure our civil rights are protected.
Image courtesy of Shalini Kantayya
Possible Topics
- The psychology and neurobiology of implicit bias
- Facial-recognition technology—how it works (and does not work)
- Civil liberties in the age of AI
Past Programs
2020
Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, MA
Indiana University Cinema, Bloomington, IN
2021
Rosendale Theatre Collective, Rosendale, NY
Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Firehouse: DCTV's Cinema for Documentary Film, New York, NY
Discovery Place, Charlotte, NC
Ragtag Cinema, Columbia, MO
2023
Media Arts Center San Diego, San Diego, CA
Arkansas Cinema Society, Little Rock, AR
2024
Milwaukee Film, Milwaukee, WI
New Orleans Film Society, New Orleans, LA