Dr. Joy Buolamwini on Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines

Dr. Joy Buolamwini is the founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, a groundbreaking MIT researcher, and an artist. She is the author of the national bestseller Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines. Dr. Joy advises world leaders on preventing AI harms. Her research on facial recognition technologies transformed the field of AI auditing and has been covered in over 40 countries. Her “Gender Shades” paper is one of the most cited peer-reviewed AI ethics publications to date. Her TED Talk on algorithmic bias has been viewed over 1.7 million times.

Dr. Joy lends her expertise to congressional hearings and government agencies seeking to enact equitable and accountable AI policy. As the Poet of Code, she creates art to illuminate the impact of AI on society. Her art has been exhibited across four continents. Her writing and work have been featured in publications like TIME, New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Rolling Stone and The Atlantic. She is the protagonist of the Emmy-nominated documentary Coded Bias which is available in 30 languages to over 100 million viewers.

She is a Rhodes Scholar, Fulbright fellow, a recipient of the Technological Innovation Award from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center as well as the 2024 winner of the NAACP-Archewell Foundation Digital Civil Rights Award. Fortune magazine named her the “conscience of the AI revolution.” Time magazine names her to the inaugural list of 100 most influential people in AI. She holds two master’s degrees from Oxford University and MIT; and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Joy earned her Ph.D. from MIT and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Knox College.