In the Footsteps of...
I am not the first person to see the invisible side of Technology (including AI).
These researchers, activists, and thinkers saw it first—and resisted through scholarship, art, journalism, and organizing. Follow their work. Support their organizations. Amplify their voices.
Timnit Gebru
Founder, DAIR Institute
DAIR Institute
Co-authored "On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots," exposed bias in AI systems, fired from Google for ethical stance
Key Work:
DAIR Institute (Distributed AI Research Institute)
Joy Buolamwini
Founder, Algorithmic Justice League
MIT Media Lab, AJL
Gender Shades research exposed facial recognition bias against dark-skinned women. "Coded Bias" documentary
Key Work:
Algorithmic Justice League
Safiya Umoja Noble
Professor, UCLA
UCLA
Author of "Algorithms of Oppression" - exposed how search algorithms perpetuate racism and sexism
Key Work:
Algorithms of Oppression (2018)
Ruha Benjamin
Professor, Princeton
Princeton University
Author of "Race After Technology" and "Viral Justice" - examines how tech encodes inequality and calls for abolitionist tools and collective repair
Key Work:
Race After Technology (2019), Viral Justice (2022)
Cathy O'Neil
Mathematician, Author
ORCAA
Author of "Weapons of Math Destruction" - exposed how algorithms deepen inequality in hiring, housing, credit
Key Work:
Weapons of Math Destruction (2016)
bell hooks
Scholar, Author (1952-2021)
Berea College
Pioneered intersectional feminist theory examining race, class, and gender. Inspired critical analysis of power structures
Key Work:
Ain't I a Woman (1981), Teaching to Transgress (1994)
Kimberlé Crenshaw
Professor, UCLA & Columbia
African American Policy Forum
Coined "intersectionality" (1989) - framework for understanding how race, gender, and class compound discrimination
Key Work:
Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality Framework
Mary L. Gray
Senior Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research
Microsoft Research, Harvard Berkman Klein Center
Co-author of "Ghost Work" - exposed invisible human labor behind AI (content moderation, data labeling)
Key Work:
Ghost Work (2019)
Siddharth Suri
Senior Principal Researcher, Microsoft
Microsoft Research
Co-author of "Ghost Work" - documented exploitation of gig workers powering AI systems
Key Work:
Ghost Work (2019)
Shoshana Zuboff
Professor Emerita, Harvard
Harvard Business School
Author of "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" - exposed how tech companies commodify human experience
Key Work:
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism (2019)
Kate Crawford
Research Professor, USC Annenberg
USC Annenberg, AI Now Institute
Author of "Atlas of AI" - exposed environmental and labor costs of AI systems (mining, energy, water)
Key Work:
Atlas of AI (2021)
Meredith Whittaker
President, Signal Foundation
Signal Foundation, AI Now Institute
Co-founded AI Now Institute, organized Google walkout, advocates for worker power and privacy
Key Work:
AI Now Institute
Julia Angwin
Founder, The Markup
The Markup
ProPublica's "Machine Bias" investigation exposed COMPAS racial bias in criminal sentencing
Key Work:
Machine Bias (ProPublica, 2016)
Tristan Harris
Co-founder, Center for Humane Technology
Center for Humane Technology
Former Google design ethicist, exposed addictive design patterns, featured in "The Social Dilemma"
Key Work:
Center for Humane Technology
Aza Raskin
Co-founder, Center for Humane Technology
Center for Humane Technology
Invented infinite scroll (and now regrets it), advocates for humane design and AI safety
Key Work:
Center for Humane Technology
Virginia Eubanks
Professor, University at Albany
University at Albany
Author of "Automating Inequality" - exposed how algorithms harm poor and working-class people in welfare, housing, child services
Key Work:
Automating Inequality (2018)