Book Review: Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code by Ruha Benjamin
Ruha Benjamin’s Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code (2019) critically examines the intersection of race, technology, and systemic inequality. Benjamin explores how modern technological systems perpetuate discrimination, reinforcing historical structures of oppression under a new guise—what she terms the New Jim Code. This book is a crucial read for scholars, policymakers, and technologists seeking to understand the hidden biases embedded in digital infrastructures and algorithmic decision-making processes.
Abolitionist Framework and the New Jim Code
Benjamin situates her analysis within the historical continuum of racial discrimination in the United States, drawing connections between post-slavery Jim Crow laws and contemporary digital technologies. She argues that rather than being neutral, technologies often mirror and exacerbate existing social inequalities. Benjamin contends that this is not merely incidental but a reflection of the biases ingrained in the ideological frameworks of those who design these systems.
The book is structured into five key sections: Engineered Inequity, Default Discrimination, Coded Exposure, Technological Benevolence, and Retooling Solidarity. Each chapter dissects a different dimension of discriminatory technological design, demonstrating how algorithms, artificial intelligence, and data collection systems replicate systemic biases.
Engineered Inequity: The Unseen Hand of Bias
Benjamin introduces the concept of engineered inequity, illustrating how racial bias is embedded in technological infrastructures. She provides a compelling example of an AI-powered online beauty contest in which the system disproportionately favored lighter-skinned contestants. Similarly, Google’s facial recognition algorithms once infamously misclassified darker-skinned individuals as “gorillas” (Benjamin, 2019, p. 76). These examples underscore how seemingly impartial technologies inherit the prejudices of their human designers.
Default Discrimination: A Glitch or a Feature?
Benjamin challenges the notion that algorithmic discrimination is merely a glitch. Instead, she argues that these systems operate as intended—functioning within a societal framework that privileges whiteness. She critiques risk assessment algorithms used in policing and sentencing, highlighting how race is a key determinant in criminal profiling. As she poignantly states, “Anti-Blackness is not glitched. The system is accurately rigged” (Benjamin, 2019, p. 82). This chapter raises an urgent ethical question: can technology ever be truly neutral, or is discrimination an intrinsic feature of digital design?
Coded Exposure: The Invisibility of Whiteness
Benjamin examines how technological visibility—or lack thereof—reinforces racial exclusion. She argues that researchers define intelligence in ways that systematically marginalize people of color. As she notes, “Discriminatory design happens much earlier in the process, in the decisions that researchers make as to what behaviors to categorize as intelligent in the first place” (Benjamin, 2019, p. 113). By overlooking non-Western knowledge systems and cultural frameworks, technological design perpetuates racial hierarchies in ways that are often invisible to those in power.
Technological Benevolence: The Illusion of Ethical Tech
One of the most thought-provoking chapters of Race After Technology examines whether technological solutions genuinely serve the public good or merely reinforce capitalist exploitation. Benjamin questions the intentions behind digital health tracking, predictive policing, and data surveillance, arguing that such technologies often prioritize profit over public welfare. She critiques the assumption that technology can “fix” societal problems without addressing the underlying structural inequities that drive them.
Retooling Solidarity: Reimagining Justice in the Digital Age
Benjamin concludes with a call to action, urging designers, policymakers, and the public to rethink technology’s role in shaping social justice. She advocates for equity audits—systematic assessments of algorithms to identify and mitigate their discriminatory impacts. Her argument is clear: technological innovation must be accountable to the communities it affects. She posits that by making systemic biases visible and contesting the status quo, society can push for a more just technological future.
Final Thoughts: A Necessary and Urgent Read
Race After Technology is a timely and essential book that challenges the assumption of technological neutrality. Benjamin’s rigorous analysis, grounded in historical context and contemporary case studies, reveals how digital systems perpetuate social hierarchies under the guise of progress. Her work is particularly relevant given the growing integration of AI into critical societal domains, including law enforcement, education, and healthcare.
While the book presents sobering insights into the racial biases embedded in technology, it also offers a hopeful vision: one where designers, policymakers, and communities work collectively to dismantle oppressive digital structures. Benjamin’s emphasis on retooling solidarity provides a roadmap for ethical and inclusive technological development.
For those interested in critical race theory, digital ethics, and social justice, Race After Technology is a must-read. It not only deconstructs the systemic biases within technological infrastructures but also empowers readers to envision and advocate for a more equitable digital future.
References
Benjamin, R. (2019). Race after technology: Abolitionist tools for the new Jim Code. Polity Press.