Algorithms of Oppression - How Search Engines Reinforce Racism

Safiya Umoja Noble

Summary

A revealing look at how negative biases against women of color are embedded in search engine results and algorithms Run a Google search for “black girls”—what will you find? “Big Booty” and other sexually explicit terms are likely to come up as top search terms. But, if you type in “white girls,” the results are radically different. The suggested porn sites and un-moderated discussions about “why black women are so sassy” or “why black women are so angry” presents a disturbing portrait of black womanhood in modern society.In Algorithms of Oppression, Safiya Umoja Noble challenges the idea that search engines like Google offer an equal playing field for all forms of ideas, identities, and activities. Data discrimination is a real social problem; Noble argues that the combination of private interests in promoting certain sites, along with the monopoly status of a relatively small number of Internet search engines, leads to a biased set of search algorithms that privilege whiteness and discriminate against people of color, specifically women of color.Through an analysis of textual and media searches as well as extensive research on paid online advertising, Noble exposes a culture of racism and sexism in the way discoverability is created online. As search engines and their related companies grow in importance—operating as a source for email, a major vehicle for primary and secondary school learning, and beyond—understanding and reversing these disquieting trends and discriminatory practices is of utmost importance.An original, surprising and, at times, disturbing account of bias on the internet, Algorithms of Oppression contributes to our understanding of how racism is created, maintained, and disseminated in the 21st century.

Available since: 02/20/2018.

Other books that might interest you

Triassic Period The: The History...

Charles River Editors

Scientists have long attempted to understand Earth’s past, and in service to that effort, they have divided the world’s history into eons, eras, periods, epochs and ages. For example, the current eon is called the Phanerozoic, which means “visible life.” This is the eon in which multi-cellular life has evolved and thrived. Before this, life was microscopic (single cell).
The Phanerozoic eon is divided into 3 eras - Paleozoic (“old life”), Mesozoic (“middle life”) and Cenozoic (“new life”). From there, the Mesozoic era is divided into 3 periods - Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous.
Before the Triassic, primitive life had built up in the oceans and seas, and some lifeforms finally had crawled onto land during the Paleozoic era. With that, life had become well established, but then came the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, the worst extinction event in the history of the planet. At the end of the Triassic, another extinction event cleared the way for dinosaurs to become the dominant set of species in the Jurassic.
Though the Triassic does not have as interesting a list of creatures as those in the Jurassic and Cretaceous, such as Tyrannosaurus rex, Stegosaurus, Pterodactyls, Brontosaurus, and the like, the life which reclaimed the Earth and then thrived during this period was no less important. Life during the Triassic spent nearly 60% of its time recovering from the Permian-Triassic extinction event, roughly 30 million years. What had been built up was then slammed by nature, effectively clearing the board once more for new species to take over.

Show book

Accounting and QuickBooks – 2 in...

Kevin Ellis

Take the guesswork out of keeping track of finances and discover efficient bookkeeping and accounting techniques for the modern business world 
Crunching the numbers and doing the books is everybody's least favorite part of running a business unless you're a numbers person. It's boring and frustrating and most people would rather not deal with it. 
But it doesn't have to be that way. 
In this special bundle, Kevin Ellis demystifies complex accounting concepts in a way that is easy to understand and can be practically applied to your business. You're going to learn how to use modern tools such as QuickBooks to make accounting easy and pain-free. 
In this special bundle, you're going to find everything you need to master accounting for small businesses. It contains the following guides:Accounting: A Simple Guide to Financial and Managerial Accounting for BeginnersQuickBooks: Step-by-Step Guide to Bookkeeping & Accounting for Beginners 
Here are some of the practical insights you're going to discover in this bundle:A comprehensive intro to the accounting equation for sole proprietorship and corporationsEverything you need to know about assets and liabilities as well as the form vs substance paradigmHow to properly get started using QuickBooks and a high-level overview of the QuickBooks dashboardPreparing financial statements, creating reports and budgeting with QuickBooks...and much, much more! 
Whether you're a student, entrepreneur, small to medium-sized business owner, employee or partner, this guide will show you how to manage finances like a pro and enable you to have intelligent conversations with finance experts.

Show book

The End of Oil - On the Edge of...

Paul Roberts

“A stunning piece of work—perhaps the best single book ever produced about our energy economy and its environmental implications” (Bill McHibbon, The New York Review of Books). 
 
Petroleum is so deeply entrenched in our economy, politics, and daily lives that even modest efforts to phase it out are fought tooth and nail. Companies and governments depend on oil revenues. Developing nations see oil as their only means to industrial success. And the Western middle class refuses to modify its energy-dependent lifestyle. 
 
But even by conservative estimates, we will have burned through most of the world’s accessible oil within mere decades. What will we use in its place to maintain a global economy and political system that are entirely reliant on cheap, readily available energy? 
 
In The End of Oil, journalist Paul Roberts talks to both oil optimists and pessimists around the world. He delves deep into the economics and politics, considers the promises and pitfalls of oil alternatives, and shows that—even though the world energy system has begun its epochal transition—we need to take a more proactive stance to avoid catastrophic disruption and dislocation.

Show book

Little Masterpieces of Science -...

George Iles

One of a series of books, "Little Masterpieces in Science" edited by George Iles, Health and Healing is a collection of articles written by prominent physicians and scientists describing key advances in medicine through the end of the 19th century.  Published in 1902, this book includes chapters on Pasteur's work with vaccines, tuberculosis, malaria, pain, eye care, prolonging life and some rules for health.  - Summary by J. M. Smallheer

Show book

The Romance of Rubber

United States Rubber Company

This pamphlet was published in the early 20th century by the United States Rubber Company so that "coming generations of our country ... have some understanding of the importance of rubber in our every day life... We believe the rubber industry will be better off if the future citizens of our country know more about it." Learn about Christopher Columbus's discovery of rubber, how the crafty British entrepreneur, Wickham, managed to smuggle rubber seedlings out of Brazil, and how rubber manufacturing came to be a "peculiarly American industry." The myriad uses of rubber from a century ago are also elaborated in considerable detail - everything from submarines to Keds to dentures. (Summary by Judy Bieber)

Show book

The Microscopic World Inside and...

Martin K. Ettington

We live surrounded by an invisible world which affects our lives in many ways. 
 In this book we will take a journey from barely visible life, to cells, their structures, molecules, atoms, fundamental particles and even smaller. 
 We will explore not just the facts about this small world, but also try to unearth interesting facts to ponder too. 
 For example, what did paranormal investigators believe about the structure of atoms over one hundred years ago? 
 And what particles or forces might be smaller than the standard building block particles we know about today? 
 Also, what are the limitations of the standard model of subatomic particles? 
 There are many things in the microscopic world which you might not expect. 
 The journey from the small to the infinitely small starts here.

Show book