Artificial Whiteness: Politics and Ideology in Artificial Intelligence, by Yarden Katz

Abstract

In Artificial Whiteness: Politics and Ideology in Artificial Intelligence, Yarden Katz departs from conventional discourses about artificial intelligence (AI). Rather than speculate on the transformative possibilities or perils it presents, the book asks: What exactly is AI, and what political and ideological projects has it served? Katz argues that AI functions as a tool of white supremacy and has historically served its projects of imperialism and capitalism. AI, he adds, mimics the very form of whiteness: state, corporate, military, and university experts have consistently made and remade AI into that which serves white supremacy. Artificial Whiteness is a timely and important text. It intervenes in scholarly and popular discussions of AI, which have proven largely resistant to critical inquiries. Artificial Whiteness interrogates the myths upon which AI rests and invites us to refuse patterned attempts to reform AI and the oppressive systems it underpins.