Black Mirrors and the Problem of Identity in Artificial Intelligence

Dr. Ramon Amaro will be interviewed by Karen Archey to discuss his book The Black Technical Object: On Machine Learning and the Aspiration of Black Being. Drawing on Black studies and psychologies studies, the discussion will reflect upon the existence of “scientific” racism, and how Black identity is mirrored in artificial intelligence.

Dr. Ramon Amaro is Senior Researcher for Digital Culture and Lead Curator of -1, a digital culture research laboratory at the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam. His writings, research and artistic practice emerge at the intersections of Black Study, digital culture, psychosocial study, and the critique of computational reason. Amaro holds a BSe in Mechanical Engineering, an MA in Sociology and a PhD in Philosophy of Technology. Before joining Nieuwe Instituut. He worked as Lecturer (Assistant Prof.) in Art and Visual Cultures of the Global South at UCL (London), Engineering Program Manager at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and Quality Design Engineer at General Motors Corporation. His recent book, The Black Technical Object: On Machine Learning and the Aspiration of Black Being (Sternberg, 2023) contemplates the abstruse nature of programming and mathematics, and the deep incursion of racial hierarchy, to inspire alternative approaches to contemporary algorithmic practice.