A&T to Host “Unmasking AI: A Conversation with Dr. Joy Buolamwini”

A&T to Host “Unmasking AI: A Conversation with Dr. Joy Buolamwini”

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Sept. 13, 2024) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will host “Unmasking AI: A Conversation with Dr. Joy Buolamwini,” an insightful and thought-provoking event Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m. in Harrison Auditorium, 1009 Bluford St. 

North Carolina A&T students, faculty and staff are invited to this free event. While tickets are not required, registration is encouraged. 

Joy Buolamwini, Ph.D., the National Bestselling author of “Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines,” will lead the conversation. As the founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, Buolamwini is a pioneering MIT researcher, model and artist who has played a key role in raising awareness about the dangers of AI and the need to address them. Her innovative research on facial recognition technology has reshaped the field of AI auditing, and her TED talk on algorithmic bias has been viewed more than 1.7 million times, fueling global conversations about the impact of technology on human rights. 

The event will discuss the critical issues explored in her book, “Unmasking AI,” which has been selected as the Text-In-Community (TIC) read for the 2024-25 academic year. Buolamwini will explore how we have arrived at an era of AI-related harm and oppression, sharing her insights on how to prevent these issues and protect humanity in the face of rapidly advancing technology. 

“Unmasking AI” goes beyond the headlines to reveal what Buolamwini calls “the coded gaze” — the hidden biases and exclusions built into tech products. Through her work with the Algorithmic Justice League, she has sparked a movement to prevent AI-related harms, focusing on how the tech industry and research sectors intersect. Her work highlights how racism, sexism, colorism and ableism intersect, leaving large groups of people vulnerable in a world that increasingly depends on AI. 

A&T’s previous TIC reads include: 

• “Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want” by Ruha Benjamin 

• “The State Must Provide: Why America’s Colleges Have Always Been Unequal – And How to Set Them Right” by Adam Harris 

• “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson 

• “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by Michelle Alexander 

• “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates” by Wes Moore 

• “Mens et Manus: A Pictorial History of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University” by Teresa Styles and Valerie Nieman 

• “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban” by Malala Yousafzai 

Click here to register for the Sept. 17 event.