"Race + Sorting Algorithms? The New Sexual Racism in Online Dating"

Online dating platforms seek to improve the offline dating experience by curating profiles for users based on information provided by individual profiles. However, the processes by which digital dating platforms’ algorithms decide who is shown to whom is based on several social indicators including gender and race. Many of these indicators are enshrouded in bias on the programming end and explicit racism disguised as personal preference on the user end.

BIO: Apryl Williams received her PhD in Sociology from Texas A&M University. She is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication & Media and the Digital Studies Institute at the University of Michigan, a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and an Affiliated Researcher at New York University’s Center for Critical Race + Digital Studies. Her research follows two broad streams of inquiry: critical algorithm studies and cultural studies of race, gender, popular culture and identity in digital spaces.