People of color have a new enemy: techno-racism

"Computers are increasingly involved in the most important decisions affecting Americans' lives -- whether or not someone can buy a home, get a job or even go to jail," said Sen. Ron Wyden, one of the sponsors of the bill. "But instead of eliminating bias, too often these algorithms depend on biased assumptions or data that can actually reinforce discrimination against women and people of color."

It's time to be more skeptical about Silicon Valley and the supposed benefits of technology, said Christiaan van Veen, director of the Digital Welfare State and Human Rights Project, which was established at NYU law school to research digitalization's impact on the human rights of marginalized groups.

"It's good to remember that digital technologies and digital systems are still built with human involvement, not imposed on us by some nonhuman entity," he said. "Like with other expressions of racism, the fight against techno-racism will need to be multipronged and will likely never end." (CNN, 9 May 2021)