Scholars' Library: Joy Buolamwini on 'Unmasking AI'

Thursday, 4 December -  5pm (UK)/ 12pm (ET)/ 9am (PT)

This event is free and open to the public.

In our December event, Dr Joy Buolamwini (Tennessee & Jesus 2013), in conversation with Meredith Ross-James (New Zealand & University 2025), will discuss her book Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machine.

Read more about her book here

Dr. Joy Buolamwini, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, stands at the vanguard of AI ethics as a pioneering MIT researcher and multidisciplinary artist. She is the author of the National Bestseller Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines and advises world leaders on preventing AI harms. Her landmark “Gender Shades” research galvanized the field of algorithmic auditing, ranking among the most influential AI bias studies ever published. This consequential research compelled three tech giants to halt sales of facial recognition technologies(FRTs) to law enforcement and sparked worldwide discourse on ethical AI implementation.

Known as the "Poet of Code," Dr. Buolamwini's artistic practice spans four continents, illuminating AI's societal impact through art exhibitions and poetic performance. Her doctoral dissertation conceptualized the "evocative audit" theory behind works like “AI, Ain’t I A Woman?”—a powerful spoken word poem and visual AI audit exposing how household tech platforms misclassify prominent women including Oprah Winfrey, Serena Williams, and Michelle Obama. As a public intellectual, her TED talk  on algorithmic bias has been viewed over 1.8 million times. The Emmy-nominated documentary Coded Bias, chronicling her evolution from graduate researcher to algorithmic justice advocate, was available to over 100 million Netflix viewers worldwide and is available through the tour in locations across the world.  She is part of the Ghanaian diaspora and is accompanied by AJL Senior Education Advisor Dr. Jaleesa Trapp.

Meredith Ross-James is a philosopher and activist currently reading for the Bachelor of Philosophy at Oxford University. Her research interests inlcude  philosophy of conspiracy theories, political extremism studies, political theory, social epistemology, and ethics. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons first class) in philosophy and political science from Te Herenga Waka- Victoria University of Wellington, as well as Victoria University's Political Theory Prize (2023) and Dame Margaret Clark prize in New Zealand Politics (2024).

Register Here

Q & A:

Please feel free to submit any questions in advance to alumni@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk or you can use the Q&A function within Zoom to ask questions directly during the live event.

Part of the Lifelong Fellowship portfolio, The Scholars’ Library is a monthly book talk series, where Rhodes alumni can come together to present, discover and debate their literary works. If you’re interested in getting involved, please reach out to Nayana Niji at alumni@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk