Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

2-12-2021

Abstract

Review of:

Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code Ruha Benjamin, Cambridge: Polity; 2019 (available in Hardcover, Paperback, and eBook): 286 pages (Kindle edition); $16.00, ISBN: 978-1-509-52643-7.

This book will appeal to readers who are skeptical of the touted benefits of technology – technosceptics, if you will – as well as readers who love all things tech. This is a must-read for both groups, as well as all those who wish to be informed of the newest applications that go well beyond robots and self-driving cars. This book is a great lens with which to ‘see’ how the newest language of innovation may be blinding us to deeper and hidden ills. Like the promise of rum, slaves, and sugar, this new trade in technology is not a panacea for societal problems that may need slow fixes. As Dr. Benjamin articulates all too well, national governments must not abdicate their responsibility for addressing the challenges wrought by new tech. Accountability and transparency are the only way forward.

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