Science on Screenⓡ: Coded Bias

This presentation is part of Dissecting Visions of Identity and Care in the Future, a 4 part-film series made possible by the Sloan Foundation’s Science on Screen initiative. Each film will be paired with a guest speaker. Dissecting Visions of Identity and Care in the Future will evaluate how cinema’s interpretation of the future frames humankind within intersections of surveillance, race, healthcare, identity, and A.I. advancements. We are particularly interested in how the technological advancements presented in these films have implications for present day systemic injustices.

Director: Shalini Kantayya | Runtime: 85 minutes | Year: 2020 | Rating: UR | Country: USA | Language: English | Documenary

Genre: Documentary, AI

Tagline: Modern society sits at the intersection of two crucial questions: What does it mean when artificial intelligence 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 many facial recognition technologies do not accurately detect darker-skinned faces or classify the faces of women, she delves into an investigation of widespread bias in algorithms. As it turns out, artificial intelligence is not neutral, and women are leading the charge to ensure our civil rights are protected.

Speaker: Professor Amy Alexander, Computing in the Arts, UC San Diego Visual Arts

Theme: Algorithms, Bias, and Us: Fighting Back and Moving Forward (Fighting for equality and regulation of algorithmic and facial recognition technologies)

Critic Quotes: “Coded Bias is not interested in wallowing in despair for the future, like many tech-infused documentaries like to do. Kantayya wants to inform and inspire change.” - Austin Chronicle