The research conducted by Joy Buolamwini revealed that commercial facial recognition software experienced error rates as high as 34.7% for darker-skinned women, compared to less than 1% for lighter-skinned men. This finding, published in the 2018 study Gender Shades, triggered significant policy shifts and corporate accountability measures within the global technology sector.
Early Development and Academic Training
Born in Edmonton in 1989, Buolamwini grew up in Mississippi and attended Cordova High School. Her interest in computing began at age nine after encountering Kismet, an MIT robot. She taught herself JavaScript, XHTML, and PHP while pursuing a career as a student-athlete in basketball and pole vaulting. She earned her undergraduate degree from Georgia Tech in 2012, where she was a Stamps President's Scholar and a finalist for the 2009 InVenture Prize.
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Buolamwini received multiple prestigious awards, including a Rhodes Scholarship and a Fulbright Scholarship. As a Rhodes Scholar at Jesus College, Oxford, she focused on learning and technology while participating in community-focused service projects. In 2011, she developed an Android-based assessment system for a trachoma program at the Carter Center in Ethiopia. Later, in 2013, she collaborated with local computer scientists in Zambia to support youth engagement in technology creation.
The MIT Media Lab and the Coded Gaze
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Buolamwini completed a master’s degree in 2017 and a PhD in 2022. Under the supervision of Ethan Zuckerman, she explored the ethical risks of artificial intelligence. She coined the term coded gaze to describe how algorithmic decision-making reflects the biases inherent in the perspectives of software designers. During this period, she founded the Algorithmic Justice League to advocate for equity in automated systems.
Policy Influence and Public Advocacy
Buolamwini’s research directly influenced industry practices, leading companies like IBM to discontinue facial recognition software in 2020. She has testified before the United States Congress to advocate for the Algorithmic Accountability Act. Her work reached a broad audience through the 2020 documentary Coded Bias, which examined the societal harms of AI. In 2023, she published the book Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What is Human in a World of Machines.
Fast facts
- Born: 1989, Edmonton, Canada
- Undergraduate Degree: Georgia Tech
- Graduate Degrees: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Notable Recognition: Rhodes Scholarship (2013)
- Notable Recognition: Shuttleworth Foundation Flash Grant (2017)
- Notable Recognition: BBC 100 Women (2018)
- Organization Founded: Algorithmic Justice League
Questions readers ask
What is the primary focus of the Algorithmic Justice League?
The organization works to address bias in decision-making software through research, advocacy, and art.
How did Buolamwini's research impact the technology industry?
Her Gender Shades study forced major companies to improve facial recognition accuracy and led IBM to discontinue its software.
Achievements
- Affiliated with Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Educated at Georgia Tech, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cordova High School
- Worked as computer scientist
