Author Safiya Umoja Noble discusses 'Algorithms of Oppression'
On Sep 28, the French auditorium was full at the Education Human Service building at Central Michigan University. Safiya Umoja Noble discussed her book “Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism.”
She talked about some of the main ideas in her book when it comes to racism. For example, she talked about “Old Media vs New Media,” when searching “black women'' all that came up was pornography because that was the most common search, Noble said.
Another topic was “social inequality will not be solved in an app.” Since more and more people over the years are using social media as a way to spread awareness, Noble said they are doing less activism away from their screens.
The main points from Noble's book are:
- Reject the neutral position as if it has no consequence.
- Become deeply educated on the pressing social issues of race, gender, and economic class which structures so much of our lives.
- Call for greater emphasis on critical theory and antiracist education in I-School and library programs; strength/fund libraries.
- Demand repair/restoration from Big Tech.
- Help yourself and others to get educated on tech harms: organize, vote, stay active, and never give up.
This presentation was sponsored by the T.R. Johnson Endowment. Annual endowment earnings are used to support speakers who further enhance excellence in teaching and learning within EHS and the greater CMU community.
Gathered together was journalism students, staff and others. There they got to hear a different perspective regarding racism and technology.
“It was eye opening and it really brought a new perspective because I never knew that people looked up the things they did back then and it was almost angering,” sophomore Andrew Seavey said. “It’s a real thing that happens in our lives today and just thinking about it I had no idea it was actually happening in our world.”
Noble’s book was published in February 2018 and recently won the Martha Farrell Foundation Award. After publishing her book, Noble, who is from California, traveled to talk about the meaning behind it. However, since the pandemic started she hasn't been able to go out and talk about it. This was the first time she got speak about her book in a while.
“I burst into tears and sobbed for probably 90 seconds [when I heard I won the award],” Noble said. “It’s amazing to see students willing to come out and faculty and staff because I know this is a scary time during the pandemic, and I’m really appreciative that we’re finding our way back to each other in person slowly and safely.”
