ALGORITHMS ARE BEING WIELDED AS TOOLS OF OPPRESSION.
At Encode Justice, we’re fighting back.
CHAPTER NETWORK
Use the map above to access volunteer form links for individual chapters by clicking on the pins.
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IN THE NEWS
"Without intervention, the promise of AI may be quickly eclipsed by its perils. This isn’t an abstract technical phenomenon; it’s a 21st-century civil rights issue." https://t.co/oSAV2ZR1hL
— Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) February 4, 2021
Op-ed written by founder and president, Sneha Revanur, in Teen Vogue (Click to view)
HIGHLIGHTS
Click through the gallery to view a few pictures from our work!
© 2021 Encode Justice. Cover illustration credit: Marta Monteiro. All rights reserved.
WHAT WE DO
Encode Justice is mobilizing communities for fairer, more ethical AI.
Image credit: NBC News.
Algorithms have left no part of our world untouched, revolutionizing cancer diagnosis in one context and assisting pretrial release decisions for criminal defendants in another. However, the bias that plagues human decision-making can reach even the seemingly impenetrable, objective mathematical formulae that define artificial intelligence.
For example, algorithms used in the U.S. criminal justice system are trained on historical datasets that reflect the disproportionate policing and incarceration of communities of color. They’re taught to make independent decisions by analyzing countless instances of real-world data in search of patterns that explain certain results.
This process forces them to unconsciously digest the bias that has historically victimized marginalized groups. As some have put it, the devil is in the data.
That’s where Encode Justice comes in.
WE’RE A COALITION OF YOUTH ACTIVISTS AND CHANGEMAKERS FIGHTING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND JUSTICE UNDER AI. HARNESSING A GLOBAL NETWORK OF VOLUNTEERS FROM ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES AND WORLD, WE CHAMPION INFORMED AI POLICY AND ENCOURAGE YOUTH TO CONFRONT THE CHALLENGES OF THE AGE OF AUTOMATION THROUGH POLITICAL ADVOCACY, COMMUNITY ORGANIZING, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING, AND CONTENT CREATION.
CAMPAIGNS
The Stand Up to Surveillance Campaign (November 2020—)
Image credit: Perpetual Lineup.
The same software used to surveil Uyghur Muslims in China has contributed to the wrongful arrests of Black men in Detroit: facial recognition technology. It has also enabled unchecked privacy abuses at the hands of ICE and has been used to monitor Black Lives Matter protestors exercising their constitutional rights, disproportionately misidentifying Black, Brown, and Asian Americans; women; and LGBTQ+ individuals. With our Stand Up to Surveillance campaign, we’re lobbying for a federal ban on government use of facial recognition and have already partnered with multiple city councils to push for local action. We’re hosting workshops and events; coordinating organizational partnerships; operating our very own Students Against Facial Recognition committee, which unites representatives from various student-led organizations; and compiling original research reports and policy proposals, through which we’ve collaborated with officials on every level, from local legislators to the White House.
Encode Justice joins a coalition of 40+ civil rights groups in calling on the Biden administration to support a federal moratorium on government use of facial recognition technology. Read our demands here: https://t.co/lJSi4iajCg
— Encode Justice (@encodejustice) February 17, 2021
We spoke at the Minneapolis public hearing, phone banked, and email banked endlessly to help make this a reality—and it finally is! 🥳 https://t.co/ognn2HVhYf
— Encode Justice (@encodejustice) February 12, 2021
The Say No to SB 10 Campaign (July-November 2020)
Pretrial risk assessment simulation via detainrelease.com.
California Senate Bill 10 (which was on the November 2020 ballot for voters in the form of Proposition 25) would have replaced the evil of cash bail with the combined evil of pretrial risk assessment tools and reduced judicial accountability. It would have expanded a system of automated racial profiling that only fuels pretrial incarceration while empowering judges and probation with funding and discretion. As a member organization of the Committee Against Pretrial Racism and the JusticeLA Coalition, Encode Justice recognized that a Yes vote on Proposition 25 would only further erode the California criminal legal system.
As part of this campaign, we collaborated with other community-based groups, phone banking, text banking, email banking, organizing social media advocacy, creating informational content like articles and videos, and hosting events. The campaign ended with a resounding victory; California voters ended up rejecting the measure by a 13% margin. Click here to learn more.
© 2021 Encode Justice. All rights reserved.
TEAM
Our team spans
27 U.S. states
16 countries
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
FOUNDER/PRESIDENT
Sneha Revanur
San Jose, California
BLOG EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Alexandra Raphling
Santa Monica, California
CHIEF OF STAFF
Abigail Muller
Palm Beach, Florida
DIRECTOR OF CHAPTER COORDINATION
Noah Gocial
Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE/OPERATIONS
Pranav Jaganathan
Frisco, Texas
DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH/RECRUITMENT
Kristen Crawford
San Antonio, Texas
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS/MEDIA RELATIONS
Suhani Iyer
Albany, New York
DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIPS
MacKenzie Fisher
Greer, South Carolina
DIRECTOR OF TECHNICAL RESEARCH
Rhea Goswami
Herndon, Virginia
CO-DIRECTOR OF POLICY
Ivy Chen
McLean, Virginia
CO-DIRECTOR OF POLICY
Maximus Weinberg
Chatham, Massachusetts
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF POLICY
Melina Golembiewski
Rochester, New York
CO-DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY
Mrudula Rapaka
Fairfax, Virginia
CO-DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY
Viraj Ala
Torrance, California
CO-DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Vidya Bharadwaj
Lincolnshire, Illinois
CO-DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Natasha Matta
San Jose, California
© 2021 Encode Justice. All rights reserved.
WORKSHOPS
2,000+ students reached
99% satisfaction
(measured via post-workshop survey filled out by students)
Click here to request a workshop
© 2021 Encode Justice. All rights reserved.
© 2021 Encode Justice. All rights reserved.