ALGORITHMS ARE BEING WIELDED AS TOOLS OF OPPRESSION.

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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.

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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.

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.

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March 2021 Technical Release: Defining, Measuring, & Improving Algorithmic Fairness

© 2021 Encode Justice. All rights reserved.

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© 2021 Encode Justice. All rights reserved.

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For general inquiries, please contact info@encodejustice.org

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SNEHA REVANUR

FOUNDER/PRESIDENT
sneha@encodejustice.org

Sneha Revanur (she/her) is a student at Evergreen Valley High School in San Jose, California with a dedication to harnessing storytelling, law, public policy, and technology to catalyze systemic change. She launched Encode Justice in July 2020 in order to integrate youth within the algorithmic justice movement; as a recipient of the 2021 Princeton Prize in Race Relations and other honors, her work mobilizing students for civil rights in the age of artificial intelligence has been extensively recognized. Outside of Encode Justice, Sneha loves to write about progressive politics, pursue impact-driven projects in computer science, aid congressional campaigns, learn languages, and travel.

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ALEXANDRA RAPHLING

CHIEF OF STAFF/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
comms@encodejustice.org; alexandraraphling@gmail.com

Alexandra Raphling (she/her) is a junior at Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California. She serves as the Chief of Staff and Editor-in-Chief at Encode Justice, as well as a policy and advocacy fellow. Outside of Encode Justice, Alexandra leads her school’s Student Task Force and participates in Mock Trial. She loves to play tennis, read, and surf.

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KASHYAP RAJESH

DEPUTY CHAPTER COORDINATOR
krvsgg@gmail.com

Kashyap Rajesh (he/him) is an incoming sophomore at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. He currently serves at the Illinois state director as well as the Deputy Chapter Coordinator at Encode Justice. Kashyap is part of his school’s congressional debate team and works on campaigns to ban flavored tobacco as part of the youth-led coalition Catalyst. Aside from his work at Encode Justice and Catalyst, he enjoys singing and going on biking adventures with friends.

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MRUDULA RAPAKA

CO-DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY
advocacy@encodejustice.org; mrapaka04@gmail.com

Mrudula Rapaka (she/her) is a junior at Chantilly High School in Fairfax, Virginia. She currently serves as Co-Director of Advocacy at Encode Justice. Outside of Encode Justice, she’s the Director of Policy for the Virginia Youth Climate Cooperative and aids in a variety of grassroots organizing. In her free time, Mrudula enjoys reading western philosophy, dancing, and eating fruit jellies!

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VIRAJ ALA

CO-DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY
advocacy@encodejustice.org; virajala2004@gmail.com

Viraj Ala (he/him) is a junior at West High School in Torrance, California. He currently serves as the Co-Director of Advocacy at Encode Justice. Outside of Encode Justice, he chairs the GenUP First Generation Caucus and serves as a student intern for his local city council. Viraj also plays basketball, wrestles, and loves a good fish taco.