My "aha!" moment was watching "Coded Bias," an awesome documentary by MIT's Dr. Joy Buolamwini. “Coded Bias” explained AI in an understandable and accessible way, while pointing out serious flaws in AI. For example, at the time the documentary was made, the leading AI-powered facial recognition technology had a 97% accuracy rate when used on white subjects, but only a roughly 50% for people of color. This rendered the technology extremely inaccurate when identifying people of color, and could lead to numerous issues like mistaken police arrests. 

This inspired me to learn more about the field, and I pored over books, articles, and research papers about AI-based discrimination from leading technology experts and civil rights organizations like the ACLU. From there, I realized that the best way to spur change would be by lobbying legislators to introduce and/or sponsor legislation that would protect rights and regulate emerging AI systems. 

I started out by writing emails and letters to my local representatives (Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Senator Corey Booker) and the New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy. Soon after that, some of my peers began to get involved. Girls for Algorithmic Justice ultimately swelled into a larger grassroots organization mobilizing hundreds of youth for the same cause: combatting algorithm-driven discrimination.

My goal is to push politicians to implement policy, first in New Jersey and then across the nation, that responsibly regulates AI, and holds co. Specifically, I am focused on advocating for policies that: (1) Prevent AI being used in ways that infringe on privacy rights, (2) Hold companies accountable to fix discrimination/bias in their AI models, and (3) Establish clear strategies for governments to protect constitutional rights in the age of AI. Tackling this issue would help build a future where AI is used responsibly and ethically, bringing benefit to humanity instead of harm. 

I also hope to prevent previous injustices from happening again–for example, in August 2023, Porscha Woodruff, a woman of color who was eight months pregnant at the time, was mistakenly arrested by the Detroit Police Department for carjacking after being misidentified by a facial recognition scan. Ms. Woodruff was eventually proved innocent, but she still endured tremendous stress over the incident. An investigation later found that the Detroit Police’s facial recognition algorithms had numerous prior incidents of misidentifying people of color.Thus, Girls for Algorithmic Justice is making a huge, positive change for the better on the lives of all people, but especially girls and women of color, who are statistically the most at-risk for discrimination by AI models.

I am working to provide young people with the tools they need to effectively lobby their local legislators for policies that responsibly regulate AI and ensure the protection of human rights. So far, Girls for Algorithmic Justice has amassed over 280 volunteers, a dedicated 7-person executive team, and a network of 11 school chapters across the globe. We have lobbied dozens of Congressional offices (including Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Senator Rosemary Bayer) for policies such as the Facial Recognition & Biometric Technology Moratorium Act and the Algorithmic Accountability Act. 

I have directed the publication of 80+ resources (including toolkits, policy one-pagers, etc.) for students to use when lobbying. Through a dualism of raising awareness and empowering young people to take action, I hope to spark significant progress in the realm of promoting equitable AI.

Over the past two years, I have committed myself to growing Girls for Algorithmic Justice. I have also actively written to the New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy, and other New Jersey legislators to encourage them to introduce bills that would address algorithmic discrimination. I have also been in contact with local news organizations and statewide organizations to discuss their publishing stories that cover the work that Girls for Algorithmic Justice is doing and expect to see press coverage soon.

Girls for Algorithmic Justice has done a wonderful job mobilizing both youth inside of our organization and outside to take action and advocate for legislation that promotes equitable artificial intelligence. I have had numerous students reach out to me eager to learn more about the issue, and ready to lobby their local representatives and governors about their concerns. No one should ever have to face discrimination, whether perpetrated by a human or an algorithm.