*POSTPONED* The Jordan Lecture: Dr. Safiya Noble

Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism

This event has been postponed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
We are planning to reschedule for Spring 2026. A new date will be announced as soon as possible.

The landscape of information is rapidly shifting as new imperatives and demands push to the fore increasing investment in digital technologies. Yet, critical information scholars continue to demonstrate how digital technology and its narratives are shaped by and infused with values that are not impartial. Technologies consist of a set of social practices, situated within the dynamics of race, gender, class, and politics, and in the service of something—a position, a profit motive, a means to an end. In this talk, Dr. Noble will discuss her book, Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, and delve into issues ranging from marginalization and misrepresentation in commercial information platforms like Google search, to the profound power struggles that violate civil, human, and collective rights through AI and machine learning projects. Dr. Noble will be in conversation with Newhouse Director Julie Walsh. 

Dr. Safiya U. Noble is the David O. Sears Presedential Endowed Chair of Social Sciences and Professor of Gender Studies, African American Studies, and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She is the Director of the Center on Resilience & Digital Justice and the Co-Director of the Minderoo Initiative on Tech & Power at the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2). Dr. Noble is the author of the best-selling book Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. In 2021, she was recognized as a MacArthur Foundation Fellow for her ground-breaking work on algorithmic discrimination.