Ruha Benjamin

As health care grapples with the question of how to identify and fix the racial bias all too frequently encoded into algorithms that shape patient care, Ruha Benjamin has established herself as a leading authority on the subject. Her recent book, “Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want,” explores the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Black Americans as well as ways to develop more inclusive technologies. Speaking at MIT last year, she noted: “If inequity is woven into the very fabric of our society — we see it from policing to education to health care to work — then each twist, coil, and code is a chance for us to weave new patterns, practices, and politics.”