Coded Bias

2020

86 mins

Directed by Shalini Kantayya
100%
57%
Documentary

Documentary follows a MIT Media Lab researcher who discovers that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces accurately, and pushes... More

Documentary follows a MIT Media Lab researcher who discovers that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces accurately, and pushes for the first-ever legislation in the U.S. to govern against bias in the algorithms that impact us all.

"Coded Bias weaves a history of the small homogeneous group of men who defined artificial intelligence and forged the culture of Silicon Valley—a culture that is already reshaping the world. As artificial intelligence moves out of the data science labs and into the real world, bias has the potential to be deployed at scale. Emboldened by troubling discoveries, Buolamwini charts a way forward by joining the ranks of other concerned experts to form a justice league committed to the more humane and ethical use of the AI systems that will shape the future." (SXSW Film Festival)

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Where to watch Coded Bias

Coded Bias is available to stream in New Zealand now... More on Netflix.

Coded Bias | Ratings & Reviews

100_%52 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes® rating
57_%53 reviews
Audience score rating

"(A) thought-provoking documentary."

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Variety

"A chilling plunge into Orwellian reality."

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Hollywood Reporter

"Even though Coded Bias never goes as deep as it should when exploring the issues of racism and sexism, it is still a fascinating watch."

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Film Threat

"The documentary dives down the rabbit hole to chillingly, comprehensively expose how algorithms can perpetuate bias in often unforeseen and unjust ways."

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Slant Magazine

"Shalini Kantayya's Coded Bias effectively brings to light a modern civil rights issue that can be proven with data."

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RogerEbert.com

"This cleareyed documentary explores how machine-learning algorithms can perpetuate society’s existing class-, race- and gender-based inequities."

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The New York Times

"Kantayya keeps things lively and easy to understand by avoiding technobabble and personalising her story."

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San Francisco Chronicle

"Coded Bias takes something huge and scary and breaks it down into small, easily understood morality tales, featuring everyday heroes fighting to save our future."

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