Algorithmic criticism is extremely important today. The internet gives us access to incredible amounts of information, and algorithms control how that information is presented to us.1 I always thought that the algorithms were presented based on the data recorded from my previous interactions with searches and which websites I visited, so finding out that really the algorithm isn’t so much individualized as it is democratic, and focused on general search results from everyone who uses Google, was a little jarring.2 Media and the depictions of minorities, specifically black men and women, have always been skewed. In the 1930’s, the NAACP used media to gain support for an anti-lynching bill, (that disgustingly ended up failing to pass) and this led to the NAACP becoming the top organization in regards to the interests of African Americans. However, at the same time, racist political cartoons, commentary, and advertising were commonplace.
Today, the concerns and difficulties that people of color face have a much more public platform, and in general, people are paying more attention. So why is it when Noble searched “black girls” on Google, the first page was all pornography?3 Is this a representation of the greater public’s opinion on black women? Or is this just a disturbing side effect of the use of artificial intelligence in data gathering for search results? It’s extremely disturbing that searching the word “Jew” on Google brings up antisemitic websites, and it’s not that this is an issue that Google cannot avoid. France and Germany both have laws in place that ban the sale of Nazi memorabilia. When you Google Jew in France, the antisemitic sites don’t come up in the search results (this is still a fact- I asked my French step dad). So it is possible to make sure that certain results don’t appear. Why hasn’t this technology been applied in the United States? As usual, search results, internet presence, and advertising is portrayed through the male gaze. There is very little intersectionality online, and there was very little intersectionality in the WPA era. At this point, in 2019, I’m really questioning what has to happen in order for the concerns and portrayal of minorities online and in algorithms to be accurate and not based off some inaccurate stereotype.
Citations:
In class discussion, October 9th, Professor Jess
Noble, Algorithms of Oppression
The Truth About Algorithms, Cathy O’Neil
