Robot Racism? Yeah, It’s A Thing

“Why Are So Many Robots White?”

I saw that headline very recently and it shocked me. But it wasn’t the headline itself that shocked me, but rather that to me this is old news. It was for a story by Mark Paterson in The Conversation.

What this headline implies is that the author may be surprised by the racism associated with robots. Put another way, the author asks why are robots so white and could racism be playing a role?

Robot racism, a thing? Absolutely. And why? Because who are their makers? Humans.

And we cannot forget that for thousands of years, humans were conditioned to fear the other. It’s how our monkey brains survived. Human minds always focus on survival, no matter what the costs. Not that I’m making excuses. I’m not. I’m just trying to argue in a balanced context.

What about Ronald Regan?

The Atlantic had a story about Ronald Reagan’s racist conversation with Richard Nixon in 1972. Yes. Ronnie. One of the most revered presidents in American history, and the then-California governor Ronald Regan disparaged African delegates to the United Nations. What’s the point of me bringing up “old news”? Reagan being a closet racist may be old news, but he is still one of the most important figures in American politics and…