Lavin Exclusive Speaker
Is technology truly designed to be neutral? What happens to human rights when we let machines encroach on our social systems? Shalini Kantayya’s latest film, Coded Bias, explores the intersection of innovation and discrimination: disrupting the default belief that AI, science and technology are inherently unbiased, and illuminating key questions about racial bias in tech that we never even thought to ask before.
Making its international debut at the Sundance Film Festival 2020, Kantayya’s Coded Bias argues that computers are fundamentally designed with bias; and these biases reflect the assumptions (conscious or subconscious) of the people who program them—usually men. Kantayya’s film emphasizes the very real impact this bias has on marginalized communities, especially through law enforcement and corporate business. Coded Bias was sparked by the shocking story of MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini’s discovery that AI facial recognition does not accurately see dark-skinned faces—and her subsequent push for the first-ever American legislation protecting against bias in the algorithms that affect everyone. Minimally regulated AI being adopted by police forces is yet another way technology is shaping society, instead of the reverse, and Kantayya deftly delves into all the ways the influence of biased tech affects all of us—and the way we see each other.
Kantayya’s production company 7th Empire Media works to create a culture of human rights through imaginative media. Also an eco-activist, Kantayya knows sustainable energy isn’t just right for the environment, but also promises untold economic opportunities. In her feature documentary Catching the Sun, she tells a modern story of innovation—one that’s disrupting outmoded industries and putting power into the hands of those who need it most. It explores the race for the clean energy future through the stories of solar entrepreneurs in the U.S. and China. The film premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival and was named a New York Times Critics’ Pick. It’s also part of American Film Showcase, and will be shown at U.S. embassies and diplomatic missions around the world. The film won the Best Feature award at the San Francisco Green Film Festival, and was released globally on Netflix with Executive Producer Leonardo DiCaprio. Catching the Sun has been nominated by the Environmental Media Association for the EMA Award for Best Documentary, and has been translated into 35 languages.
Recently, Kantayya directed Breakthrough for National Geographic: a series profiling trailblazing scientists who will transform our future (Executive Produced by Ron Howard). Her award-winning sci-fi film about the world water crisis, A Drop of Life, was broadcast on national television in the U.S. and India. A Drop of Life was used as a tool to organize for water rights in 40 villages across Africa—making a real-world impact in the lives of thousands. Kantayya finished in the top 10 out of 12,000 filmmakers on Fox’s On the Lot, a show by Steven Spielberg in search of Hollywood’s next great director.
Kantayya is a Sundance Fellow and a TED Fellow. She was also a finalist for the ABC/Disney Directing Program. A William D. Fulbright Scholar, she has lectured at Princeton, Yale, Stanford, and USC, among others. She has received recognition from the Sundance Documentary Program, IFP Spotlight on Documentary, New York Women in Film and Television, and the Jerome Hill Centennial.