Blog Post #9: Google & Oppression

Umoja Safiya enlightens us on the content that is provided by Google’s algorithms when users search things like “black women” or other women of color (Asian, Latina). We may be surprised to find so many of these girls in these images to be “pornified”. She expresses that there should be a concern when comparing these search results to things like, say, “white women”, who’s results are not pornified. In Tulsee Doshi’s video, it is first noted that Google has a problem with diverse user that needs to be address; it is then stated that “fairness” must be defined before exploring opportunities to fix this issue of diverse users. Doshi’s video, however, does not directly address the issues that Safiya is concerned about. Doshi’s video addresses how Google is / should increase diversity within its platform as opposed to correcting its racist and sexist algorithm(s). The video hones in on concerns regarding LGBTQIA+ and circles around the topic of fairness, but does not align with Safiya’s concerns about misrepresented minorities (women, black, asian, latina, etc).