The Tattoo and the Algorithm

A meditation on race, technology, and the fight for equitable education

Educated citizens are the lifeforce of democracy. Across all aspects of modern life, and especially in education, AI is raising existential questions. Like any new technology, it is both transformative and problematic.

In this smart exploration of tech, race, and society, Dr. Kamau Bobb meditates on the convergence of American memory and the promises of AI in education. At this critical milestone in American history, this book argues that enthusiasm and clamor for AI are a veil for the vacuous neglect of our nation's racist past. Bobb encourages readers to pause and examine the actual foundation on top of which the grand claims of AI’s potential in education are being built, raising questions like:

• How does AI change the fundamental structure of American education?
• How does the application of AI enabled tools affect educational outcomes in schools that are profoundly segregated?
• When the purveyors of these technologies claim that they will close gaps and improve the educational experience for all students, what does that really mean?

American educational history is overflowing with abuse, segregation, substandard structures, and smoldering scorn. This book grapples with the challenges ahead in achieving equitable education as AI transforms and the nation retracts. At this convergence of technology and racial backlash in education, Bobb provides lessons from America's past to light the path ahead.Kamau Bobb is the founding Senior Director of the Constellations Center for Education in Computing at Georgia Tech. He is the former Director of STEM Education Strategy and Research at Google and a former Program Officer at the National Science Foundation in the Directorate of Computer and Information Science and Engineering. During his federal service, he served on President Obama’s MBK STEM Taskforce. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Bobb was the Director of the STEM Initiative for the University System of Georgia. Kamau holds a Ph.D. in Science and Technology Policy from Georgia Tech and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.