Patricia Juárez on AI

Today’s age of AI is only the newest iteration of numerous technological evolutions that –  together with their promise of societal advancement – dangerously subvert human agency and perpetuate racism.

Decades of training have rendered us unable to ask ourselves about the bigger context that constantly sends us instructions, such as: "Do not click on any suspicious links," "System is shutting down for scheduled maintenance. Please save your work," etc. Some of those directions seem to carry a moral undertone (“Read before you retweet”) or worse ("Failure to comply … may result in disciplinary action.") All this might seem perfectly normal and useful, however, what do we know about the fertile soil that created this and other characteristics of the current IT systems that we use today? How do the peaks and winters of AI intersect and impact our very personal lives? Who drives the current AI peak? What do we know about the racist impact that those seemingly useful algorithms carry?

For the members of the Dismantling Racism group, and other campus constituents, it is of the utmost relevance to ask ourselves these and other equally important questions, as we are also members of one of the top public universities in the country, a university that is feverishly invested in using AI for the betterment of our institution. We are also the ones who should speak out about this phenomenon from an educated perspective to the rest of the society who needs to hear this.

Offering her unique perspective as long-time Dismantling Racism member, Berkeley IT Senior Business Systems Analyst, and Independent Native Studies Scholar, Patricia Juarez will lead us in a special session to review paramount aspects of the AI phenomenon and its consequences, highlighting its racist aspects. Patricia will share strategies that communities around the globe are implementing for their own betterment, that we can implement, too,  and we’ll end with Q&A.