Algorithms of oppression : how search engines reinforce racism /
Noble, Safiya Umoja,
Algorithms of oppression : how search engines reinforce racism / Safiya Umoja Noble. - xv, 229 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 23 cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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 this book, 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 colour.
Specialized.
9781479837243 (pbk.) : £21.99
Google.
Web search engines--Social aspects.
Discrimination.
Computers and IT.
Computers and IT.
025'.04252
Algorithms of oppression : how search engines reinforce racism / Safiya Umoja Noble. - xv, 229 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 23 cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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 this book, 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 colour.
Specialized.
9781479837243 (pbk.) : £21.99
Google.
Web search engines--Social aspects.
Discrimination.
Computers and IT.
Computers and IT.
025'.04252