Joy Buolamwini

Dr. Joy Buolamwini is a Canadian-American computer scientist, AI researcher, and digital activist widely recognised for exposing biases inartificial intelligence. She is the founder of the Algorithmic Justice League (AJL), an organisation that combines art, advocacy, and research to address the societal impact of AI. Her landmark study,Gender Shades, revealed significant racial and gender disparities in facial recognition systems, with darker-skinned women experiencing error rates of up to 34.7%, compared to 0.8% for lighter-skinned men. This research led companies likeIBM,Microsoft, and Amazon to improve their AI systems.

Buolamwini has addressed global audiences at the United Nations, World Economic Forum, and the U.S. Congress. Her efforts contributed to regulatory discussions, including advising President Biden’s administration on Executive Order 14110 regardingAI governance. She co-created the Safe Face Pledge, advocating for ethical AI use, and launched initiatives like the Community Reporting of Algorithmic System Harms (CRASH).

Her book,Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What is Human in a World of Machines(2023), examines the risks of AI systems reinforcing societal inequities. She is featured in the documentaryCoded Biasand has been recognised on theEdelman"AI Creators You Need to Know" list,TIME 100 Next,Fortune 50 World’s Greatest Leaders, andBloomberg 50.

Born in Edmonton, Canada, Buolamwini grew up in Mississippi and graduated with honours in computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she researched health informatics. A Rhodes Scholar and Fulbright Fellow, she earned master’s degrees from Oxford University and MIT. In 2022, she completed her PhD at MIT Media Lab, focusing on algorithmic bias and accountability through her thesis,Facing the Coded Gaze.