The Perspective of Software Professionals on Algorithmic Racism
Ronnie de Souza Santos, Luiz Fernando de Lima, Cleyton Magalhaes

TL;DR
This study explores software professionals' understanding of algorithmic racism, revealing awareness of its effects but a lack of consensus on solutions, emphasizing the need for combined technical and social strategies.
Contribution
It provides empirical insights into software practitioners' perspectives on algorithmic racism and proposes integrated strategies to mitigate its impact.
Findings
Practitioners are aware of algorithmic racism's effects.
No consensus on effective solutions among professionals.
Training on structural racism is recommended.
Abstract
Context. Algorithmic racism is the term used to describe the behavior of technological solutions that constrains users based on their ethnicity. Lately, various data-driven software systems have been reported to discriminate against Black people, either for the use of biased data sets or due to the prejudice propagated by software professionals in their code. As a result, Black people are experiencing disadvantages in accessing technology-based services, such as housing, banking, and law enforcement. Goal. This study aims to explore algorithmic racism from the perspective of software professionals. Method. A survey questionnaire was applied to explore the understanding of software practitioners on algorithmic racism, and data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics and coding techniques. Results. We obtained answers from a sample of 73 software professionals discussing their…
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Taxonomy
TopicsMobile Crowdsensing and Crowdsourcing · Machine Learning and Data Classification · Software Testing and Debugging Techniques
