Algorithms of Oppression

February 15, 2018

Noble (information studies, Univ. of California, Los Angeles; coeditor, The Intersectional Internet) presents convincing evidence of the need for closer scrutiny and regulation of search engine architecture and algorithms and challenges the accepted premise that Google results can be trusted as credible and unbiased. Using a feminist lens, the author demonstrates specific examples of search results that feature sites promoting racist and sexist stereotypes, reinforce society's hegemonic frameworks, and lead to technological redlining of women and minority groups. The book also addresses inherent problems with the corporate control of online public information sources, how sites game the system through search optimization, and how it is nearly impossible to have personal information removed from the Internet. Noble closes with recommendations for the future, ranging from needed regulations on search engines to a call for information science professionals to collaborate with researchers from the fields of sociology, gender and minority studies, and communication. She argues that while Google is a powerful resource for organizing and accessing information, it will never reach its potential without a greater commitment to shared democratic values and social justice. VERDICT A thought-provoking, well-researched work with historical and current discussions that are especially important for information professionals.--Theresa Muraski, Univ. of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Lib.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2018
How Google and other search engines represent marginalized people in "erroneous, stereotypical, or even pornographic ways."Noble (Information Studies/UCLA; co-editor: Emotions, Technology, and Design, 2016, etc.) was drawn to her subject in 2011, when her Google search on the keywords "black girls" brought up a black pornography site as the first hit. Her subsequent research has led her to conclude that such web searches yielding racism and sexism as the first results reflect "a corporate logic of either willful neglect or a profit imperative that makes money from racism and sexism." Google has since changed its algorithm for the "black girls" search, but the author has identified and writes here about many other instances of search engine "recklessness and lack of regard" for women and people of color--e.g., a 2016 Google Images search for "gorillas" that produced photographs of black women. Arguing from a black feminist perspective, Noble says such search findings "increasingly lead to racial and gender profiling, misrepresentation, and even economic redlining." She notes that contrary to the popular belief that Google is a public resource, the search engine is a commercial enterprise--an advertising agency--that "biases search to its own economic interests." As a result, she writes, the company often prioritizes powerful or highly capitalized industries and interests. Also, due to the lack of diversity in Silicon Valley and the general lack of people with an understanding of racism and sexism, search engines fail to carefully analyze the potential impacts of their products. Whether by neglect or deliberation, girls' identities are often "commercialized, sexualized, or made curiosities." As Noble writes, "intention is not particularly important." Meanwhile, pornography and other businesses work to maximize their search results. Other topics covered include Google's monopoly on information and the need for regulation. Jargon limits the book's accessibility, and a chapter on the views of search engine officials is curiously lacking.A distressing account of algorithms run amok.

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