TECHNOLOGY + AI

Dr. Safiya Noble is the author of the highly acclaimed Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism (NYU Press) which was a New York Public Library 2018 Best Book for Adults and recognized by Bustle as one of “10 Books about Race to Read Instead of Asking a Person of Color to Explain Things to You”. She is currently an Associate Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); she also holds appointments in African American Studies and Gender Studies. She has been quoted in The Guardian, the BBC, CNN International, USA Today, Wired, Time, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, The New York Times, and Virginia Public Radio, and a host of local news and podcasts. In her talks and research, she focuses on the ways that digital media impacts our lives and intersects with issues of race, gender, culture, and technology.

Siva Vaidhyanathan speaks on the impact of digitalization on society and democracy. In his speeches, he encourages audiences to consider how technology like Google and social media shape the way we think, and what we can do to foster a new Internet ecosystem designed to benefit the whole world. He is a frequent contributor on media and cultural issues on public radio shows and news programs, notably BBC, CNN and NBC. Siva has authored several books, including Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2018). His articles have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian and The Nation.

Allissa V. Richardson, PhD is an assistant professor of journalism at USC Annenberg. She researches how African Americans use mobile and social media to produce innovative forms of journalism — especially in times of crisis. Richardson is the author of Bearing Witness While Black: African Americans, Smartphones and the New Protest #Journalism (Oxford University Press, 2020). Richardson’s research is informed by her award-winning work as a journalism innovator. She is considered a pioneer in mobile journalism (MOJO), having launched the world’s first smartphone-only college newsrooms in 2010, in the U.S., Morocco and South Africa.