“Dr. Buolamwini has been called the ‘conscience of the AI revolution,’ and her transformative scholarship has brought much needed moral clarity to the field of artificial intelligence,” said Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund. “In joining LDF’s board, Dr. Buolamwini will lend her invaluable expertise to inform the governance and stewardship of the organization and help advance its mission of racial justice within the rapidly changing technology landscape.”
A leading voice on preventing algorithmic and artificial intelligence related harm, Dr. Buolamwini’s research has transformed the field and the ways governments and institutions utilize these technologies. A Rhodes scholar and Fullbright fellow, Dr. Buolamwini holds master’s degrees from the University of Oxford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she also earned her PhD. In 2025, she was selected for the inaugural cohort of the Accelerator Fellowship Programme at the University of Oxford’s Institute for Ethics in AI.
Dr. Buolamwini is the author of the national bestseller, “Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines,” and her landmark research “Gender Shades” is ranked among the most influential AI bias studies ever published. That research compelled three tech giants to halt sales of facial recognition technologies to law enforcement and sparked worldwide discourse on ethical AI implementation.
“It is my honor to join the esteemed members of the Legal Defense Fund’s Board of Directors in supporting this storied institution as it seeks to protect Black communities amid the rising frontier of algorithmic justice fueled by the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence,” said Dr. Joy Buolamwini. “For 85 years, LDF has been at the vanguard of racial justice legal work, and I look forward to helping ensure that work endures for the next 85 years and beyond.”
Dr. Buolamwini has been recognized by some of the world’s leading publications and institutions and is the recipient of the inaugural Morals and Machines Prize and a Technological Innovation Award from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. A pioneering MIT researcher and multidisciplinary artist, Dr. Buolamwini is also renowned for using art and poetry as a vehicle for exploring the impact of AI. The mission of the Algorithmic Justice League, which she founded, is to raise public awareness about the impacts of AI, equip advocates with resources to bolster campaigns, build the voice and choice of the most impacted communities, and galvanize researchers, policymakers, and industry practitioners to prevent AI harms.
“I am thrilled to welcome Joy Buolamwini to the LDF family at this critical moment for our communities and our democracy,” said LDF Board co-chair Angella Vallot. “Dr. Buolamwini’s scholarship and experience will be instrumental in LDF’s work to safeguard Black and other communities of color from artificial intelligence systems that could perpetuate bias and discrimination.”
“As the premiere legal institution fighting for racial justice, LDF is at the forefront of efforts to confront technological inequity in all of its forms,” said LDF Board co-chair Kim Koopersmith. “Dr. Buolamwini will provide unparalleled expertise on the myriad civil rights implications of artificial intelligence in support of LDF’s work to address the most pressing issues facing Black communities.”
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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights law organization. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957 — although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.
