Algorithmic Oppression: Biased Machines and Where to Find Them

Recent events of racial discrimination in law enforcement and the healthcare industry have shown us how biased and racist humans are. The systemic racism that rules over these institutions is evident from police brutality on black people to the denial of hospital treatment of black patients during the pandemic. We all know the countless stories of innocent black people being targeted and killed by the police. In the healthcare industry, for example, the pain of black patients is commonly taken less seriously than that of white patients. All of these failures of the system are due to human racial bias, either conscious or unconscious. Computers are often perceived as far less biased compared to human decision-making processes.