Algorithms of oppression: how search engines reinforce racism

Algorithms are everywhere, yet their presence and workings remain obscured.It is only recently that the discriminatory effects of algorithmic (machine learning, artificial intelligence) classification and decision-making are being exposed.Safiya Umoja Noble's Algorithms of Oppression is a ground-breaking book which declares that '...artificial intelligence will become a major human rights issue in the twenty-first century' (p.1).The author's argument -with a critical focus on the ubiquitous Google search enginedemolishes any beliefs that algorithms are benign or neutral in their operations and practices.Noble situates algorithms as integral to the socio-technical (re)production of digital and 'real-world'…