By Nuren Nawar
Recently, I wanted a documentary called Coded Bias. This documentary explores the various prejudices and dangers involved in programs and algorithms, specifically in facial recognition and surveillance technology. Racial and gender discrimination in facial recognition technology are highlighted in the documentary, along with the various threats to civil rights that surveillance technology evokes. I had previous knowledge about the topics discussed and analyzed in the documentary, and not much of the information presented in the documentary was especially surprising. However, something that intrigued me was why many algorithms are discriminatory and hold bias. In the documentary, they talked about how the reason many programs and algorithms are discriminatory is due to who is programming them. Since the main demographic of employees in computer science who program these algorithms are white men, their programs end up functioning best and catering to their demographic. Technology is meant to be something neutral that advances society and allows for efficiency in decision-making. However, to see it evolving into something biased and discriminatory that’s making decisions that retract us as a society makes me wonder whether we should be using technology to make such important decisions. I believe to ensure inclusive and unbiased programs, the computing industry needs to be diversified and more inclusive. The people who make the code for a program are especially important to how it functions since they influence its biases, even if they’re unaware of it. Women and people of colour are exceptionally underrepresented in computer science, and as a result, they’re underrepresented in algorithms and programs. As a woman of colour who is looking to get into STEM, I am very aware of the discrimination and discouragement minorities face in various male-dominated fields, such as computer science. Not only are minorities discouraged from pursuing STEM from a young age, but they also experience an abundance of bigotry if they do pursue it. This is why encouragement and exposure to programming for various minorities need to be emphasized, and combating sexism and racism in the workplace also needs to be stressed. Once we focus on improving the computer science industry and ensuring it’s more welcoming and inclusive to everyone, the algorithms that are used to make decisions and enhance society will unlearn their biases and be more inclusive.
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