Algorithms and analogies to structural racism
Last week there was widespread media attention to Amazon’s removal of sales rankings on a number of gay- and lesbian-themed books due to a “glitch.” One of the more notable responses was by technologist Mary Hodder who in a guest post at TechCruch dissected the episode and explained Why Amazon Didn’t Just Have a Glitch.
For a further take on these issues, consider How the Amazon “Glitch” Relates to Structural Discrimination and Racism. The post, by Keith Kamisugi of the Equal Justice Society, reflects insightfully on the challenges of addressing human bias and structural discrimination in areas, such as technology, where most may think it does not or would not exist. A worthy read.
