Social Forces· 2019Q1· Review
Review of “Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code”
- 1,486citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2019year
Short summary
Benjamin's "Race After Technology" argues that technology, created within a racist context, actively perpetuates systemic oppression by coding discriminatory practices and creating a digital dragnet that stigmatizes marginalized groups.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Technology is created within a racist societal context and generates information that can worsen inequities.
- Technology codifies discriminatory practices, leading to racist responses to social problems.
- The design, intent, and implementation of technology often exclude marginalized groups.
- Technology presents an "allure of objectivity" that masks the biases of its creators and sponsors.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Race and racism are defining characteristics of life in American society. Technology and other knowledge production tools are created within this racist context and generate information that, when (mis)used, worsen inequities for already marginalized people. Race after Technology takes readers on a provocative journey into technology’s role in perpetuating racism. In this book, Benjamin explores the myriad of ways in which technology reinforces systemic oppression in America, creating a digital dragnet which codes people by stigmatizing them for where they live, work, and play. Technology codifies discriminatory practices in a way that results in racist responses to social problems. It succeeds by excluding some groups from taking part in its design, intent, implementation, and results. While it strives to present with an “allure of objectivity,” the content of technology reflects the biases of its creators and the motivations of its sponsors. It twists society like a fun-house mirror where the principles of Jim Crow and the “illusion of [racial] progress” persist.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Social Forces, 2019 · DOI ↗
Continue with a free account
Ask the paper: 3 free questions a day about this paper; save it, get its citation, new summaries every day for your field. Takeaways are Premium.
Continue free on the webSign in with Google or Apple; no card needed. You come back to this paper.
On your phone:
Field: Communication
CommunicationSocial Sciences