Contesting Algorithmic Racism Through Digital Cultures In Brazil

巴西通过数字文化对抗算法种族主义

• 批准号: AH/X005682/1
• 负责人: Edward King
• 金额: $ 27.93万
• 依托单位: University of Bristol
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FX005682%2F1
• 关键词: Contesting; Algorithmic; Racism; Through; Digital

This project explores cultural responses to 'algorithmic racism,' the embedding of racial biases within software systems, in Brazil. It interrogates how cultural products, from literature to digital art, and practices, from video game design to digital archiving, can be used to challenge the ways in which, despite their sheen of neutrality, new technologies often reproduce existing racist assumptions. Examining the intersection between the creative industries and activism, it is the first to ask: what does an analysis of cultures of resistance to algorithmic racism in Brazil reveal about our understanding of the relationships between race and digital technologies, art and digital activism; as well as about our public understanding of the forms of bias specific to the digital age?Although algorithmic racism is a global concern, it has become the subject of particularly urgent debate in Brazil. A combination of high rates of smartphone ownership and low levels of digital literacy, coupled with the use of social media by far-right President Bolsonaro's supporters to both legitimise racist discourse and manipulate public opinion, has made it especially visible in the country. At the same time, cultures of opposition to algorithmic racism have been particularly quick to mobilise in Brazil due to two main factors: 1) the prominence of media activism that is the legacy of government-supported digital inclusion initiatives of the 2000s; and 2) the explosive confluence of both national anti-racism movements (including the Movimento Negro Unificado) and transnational campaigns such as BlackLivesMatter. My research will map creative responses to algorithmic racism in Brazil across different media and aesthetic practices, including Afrofuturism, collaborative videogame production, digital archive design, and visual art. I counter a tendency in existing criticism to focus narrowly on the online visibility of either Afro-descendent or indigenous communities. I focus instead on the interconnections between racialisation practices in digital cultures in a national context that has been so dominated by ideologies of 'mestiçagem' (racial mixing). The monograph will discuss these issues from 5 perspectives: 1) interrelations between discourses of digital and racial inclusion; 2) the role of futuristic aesthetics in imagining alternative technologies; 3) alternative digital archiving practices; 4) the use of videogames to develop alternatives to algorithmic racism; 5) the influence of struggles for land rights on discourses and practices of digital inclusion.The project is underpinned by a multidisciplinary cultural studies approach and has coproduction and impact at its heart. It combines close analysis of works of digital culture (videogames, multi-media art and literature) with archival research and structured interviews as well as participatory design. Working closely with external partners in the creative industries and third sector, I will produce an educational videogame, digital inclusion toolkit and policy advisory document that will support non-profit organisations and community groups running digital literacy initiatives with marginalised communities in Brazil.The fellowship will enhance my standing as a leader in Brazilian, Latin American and Digital Culture Studies. It will allow me to lead an interdisciplinary team of researchers and non-academic partners on the role of the creative industries in exposing and contesting bias embedded within computer systems, which is one of the most urgent of contemporary challenges. It will enable me, through the dissemination of research findings in international workshops and conferences, to reframe a debate that has thus far been focused on North America and provide a model of creative technology research in modern languages.

该项目探讨了巴西对“算法种族主义”的文化反应，即在软件系统中嵌入种族偏见。它质疑文化产品，从文学到数字艺术，和实践，从视频游戏设计到数字存档，可以用来挑战的方式，尽管他们的光泽中立，新技术往往复制现有的种族主义假设。研究创意产业和行动主义之间的交叉点，这是第一个问题：对巴西抵制算法种族主义的文化的分析揭示了我们对种族与数字技术，艺术和数字行动主义之间关系的理解;以及我们对数字时代特有的偏见形式的公众理解？尽管算法种族主义是一个全球性的问题，但它已成为巴西特别紧迫的辩论主题。高智能手机拥有率和低水平的数字素养，加上极右翼总统博尔索纳罗的支持者使用社交媒体使种族主义言论合法化并操纵舆论，使其在该国特别明显。与此同时，反对算法种族主义的文化在巴西特别迅速地动员起来，这是由于两个主要因素：1）媒体行动主义的突出，这是2000年代政府支持的数字包容倡议的遗产; 2）全国反种族主义运动（包括Movimento Negro Unificado）和BlackLivesMatter等跨国运动的爆炸性融合。我的研究将绘制创造性的反应在巴西算法种族主义在不同的媒体和美学实践，包括非洲未来主义，协作视频游戏制作，数字档案设计，和视觉艺术。我反对现有的批评倾向，狭隘地集中在网上的知名度无论是非洲裔或土著社区。相反，我专注于种族化的做法在数字文化中的民族背景下，已被“mestiçagem”（种族混合）的意识形态占主导地位的相互联系。该专著将从5个角度讨论这些问题：1）数字和种族包容性话语之间的相互关系; 2）未来主义美学在想象替代技术中的作用; 3）替代数字存档实践; 4）使用视频游戏开发算法种族主义的替代品; 5）土地权利斗争对数字包容的话语和实践的影响。该项目以多学科文化研究方法为基础，其核心是共同制作和影响。它结合了数字文化作品（视频游戏，多媒体艺术和文学）的密切分析与档案研究和结构化访谈以及参与式设计。我将与创意产业和第三部门的外部合作伙伴密切合作，制作一个教育视频游戏、数字包容工具包和政策咨询文件，支持非营利组织和社区团体在巴西的边缘化社区开展数字扫盲活动。该奖学金将提高我作为巴西、拉丁美洲和数字文化研究领导者的地位。这将使我能够领导一个由研究人员和非学术合作伙伴组成的跨学科团队，研究创意产业在揭露和质疑计算机系统中嵌入的偏见方面的作用，这是当代最紧迫的挑战之一。它将使我能够通过在国际研讨会和会议上传播研究成果，重新构建迄今为止一直集中在北美的辩论，并提供一个现代语言的创造性技术研究模式。