The UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry has received a gift from the Archewell Foundation, supporting the center’s research and programs, which are focused on the harm that vulnerable communities face from internet technologies.
The collaboration will build on the center’s existing network of scholars, practitioners, activists and artists, who are working on reimagining technology, championing racial and economic justice in the tech sector, and strengthening democracy through culture-making and public policy work.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are deeply committed to using their light to illuminate the problems of inequality and structural racism,” said Safiya U. Noble, who co-founded and co-directs the center with Sarah T. Roberts. “We have a shared commitment and sense of urgency in making a more compassionate world, much of which is undermined by internet platforms. I know what they stand for and share in their mission. We look forward to lending our research expertise and networks to our mutual work on the most pressing issues of internet policy and culture that are accelerating racial, gender and economic inequity.”
Noble is an associate professor in the departments of information studies and African American studies. Her research focuses on digital media and its impact on society, as well as how digital technology and artificial intelligence intersect with issues of race, gender, culture and power. She is the author of the bestselling book “Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism,” which examines racist and sexist algorithmic bias in commercial search engines.
Roberts, an associate professor of information studies, is a leading authority on commercial content moderation, a term she coined to describe the work of those who ensure photos, videos and stories on commercial websites fit within legal and ethical guidelines and standards.
The Archewell Foundation, a nonprofit created by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, works to uplift and unite local and global communities. The foundation supports a community of partner organizations that are working toward systemic cultural change, including the World Central Kitchen, The Loveland Foundation, the Center for Humane Technology and Stanford Medicine’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education.
Photos by Stella Kalinina