Women's International Film Festival - Friday, July 29th

Day 2 of our 2022 festival features Coded Bias that captures the fallout of Joy Buolamwini’s startling discovery that most facial recognition software does not accurately see dark-skinned faces or women. Joy is forced to reckon with bias encoded in algorithms, the invisible mathematical equations that are remaking our behavior, our culture, and our democracies.

Automated decision-making has the unprecedented power to disseminate bias at scale. Through the organization she founds, the Algorithmic Justice League, Joy aims to create a movement towards accountability and transparency. Coded Bias follows poet of code Joy Buolamwini journey to push for the first-ever legislation to govern AI in the United States. In Joy’s success, failures, and challenges lies the collective hope for a more humane use of the technologies of the future. But can the best of our humanity challenge the power of big tech yielding bias in artificial intelligence at scale?

Artfully crafting vérité, lyrical visuals, and imaginative graphic novel elements, Coded Bias captures the personals stories of people whose lives have been directly impacted by algorithmic bias. Powerfully conveying the importance of Joy’s work, Coded Bias features personal stories of people directly impacted by unjust algorithms. As humans increasingly outsource autonomy to machines, Coded Bias explores the setbacks in hiring, health care, and criminal justice. Through intimate portraits and groundbreaking thought leaders, the film aims to show the human impacts that are happening under the guise of machine neutrality and optimizing efficiency.

Film shorts include A Stranger at the Funeral (Peru), Well Actually (USA),and A Wake For Mary Murphy (Ireland).