Women in AI
Dr. Joy Buolamwini
Founder, Algorithmic Justice League
Dr. Joy Buolamwini is a computer scientist, digital activist, and the founder of the Algorithmic Justice League (AJL). Her groundbreaking research at the MIT Media Lab exposed significant racial and gender bias in commercial facial recognition systems developed by companies including IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon — catalyzing a global conversation about AI fairness.
Buolamwini's 2018 research paper, co-authored with Timnit Gebru, demonstrated that facial recognition systems had error rates of up to 34.7% for darker-skinned women compared to less than 1% for lighter-skinned men. This work directly led IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon to improve or pause their facial recognition products, and influenced legislation including bans on government use of facial recognition technology.
She is the author of 'Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines' (2023) and the subject of the documentary 'Coded Bias.' Her TED Talk on AI bias has been viewed millions of times.
Buolamwini holds a PhD from MIT, a Master's from the University of Oxford (as a Rhodes Scholar), and a Bachelor's from Georgia Tech. She was named to TIME's list of the 100 Most Influential People in AI.
