About the IAPP

Joy Buolamwini, Ph.D., is the founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, a groundbreaking MIT researcher, a model, and an artist. She is the author of the national bestseller “Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines” and advises world leaders on preventing AI harms. Her research on facial recognition technologies transformed the field of artificial intelligence auditing. Her TED talk on algorithmic bias has been viewed over 1.6 million times.

Buolamwini lends her expertise to congressional hearings and government agencies seeking to enact equitable and accountable AI policy. As the Poet of Code, she creates art to illuminate the impact of AI on society. Her writing has been featured in publications like TIME, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, and The Atlantic. Her work as a spokesmodel has been featured in Vogue, Allure, Harper's Bazaar, and People Magazine. She is the protagonist of the Emmy-nominated documentary “Coded Bias” which is available to over 100 million viewers.

Buolamwini is the first Black researcher to grace the cover of Fast Company appearing in the 2020 “Most Creative People” issue and has been named to notable lists including Forbes 30 under 30, Bloomberg50, Time Next 100, and MIT Tech Review 35 under 25. She is the recipient of notable awards including the Rhodes Scholarship, the Fulbright Fellowship, the inaugural Morals and Machines Prize, and the Technological Innovation Award from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center. She was selected as a 2022 Young Global Leader, one of the world’s most promising leaders under the age of 40 as determined by The World Economic Forum. Fortune named her the “conscience of the AI revolution.” Buolamwini earned her Ph.D. from MIT and was awarded an honorary degree from Knox College. She enjoys drawing and drumming in her free time.