United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry

Dr. Ruha Benjamin stressed that the people and companies behind the screen, not the technology itself, are responsible for the harms of artificial intelligence. Dr. Benjamin, the Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and founding director of the Ida B. Wells JUST Data Lab, called tech industry leaders “the artificial intelligentsia” and warned that they want the public to believe democracy is outdated software. Drawing on Black intellectual tradition from W.E.B.

One year ago, President Trump declared the Digital Equity Act “unconstitutional” and “racist and illegal” in a post on Truth Social. The next day, the Department of Commerce sent cancellation letters to every grantee. Trump’s claim is false. The Digital Equity Act is a bipartisan law passed as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance is suing to stop the illegal cancellation.

We are reaping the fruit of the industry’s cowardice. For more than a year, most major media companies have stood by or aggressively acquiesced as President Trump and Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr pressured them through lawsuits and baseless investigations. Radio coverage of ICE raids? Investigated. A comedian’s joke? Investigated. Fair hiring for people of color? Reframed as racist. CBS installed a monitor. ABC paid out a settlement to the President. Nexstar and Sinclair pulled Jimmy Kimmel off the air on their local stations.