Algorithms Can Be a Tool For Justice--If Used the Right Way

Stacia L. Brown, a writer and podcaster, was scrolling through Netflix's recommendations and noticed a poster for Like Father, a summer release starring Kelsey Grammer and Kristen Bell--except that the poster she saw featured two lesser-known actors, Blaire Brooks and Leonard Ouzts. She took to Twitter: "Other Black @netflix users: does your queue do this? Generate posters with the Black cast members on them to try to compel you to watch?" Because of her astute eye, I took a look at my Netflix recommendations and suddenly noticed that Fyvush Finkel was popping up everywhere. Netflix responded to the controversy by saying that Brown's premise was wrong: The company couldn't target posters to subscribers' races, because "we don't ask members for their race, gender, or ethnicity."