Joy Adowaa Buolamwini is a Canadian-American computer scientist and digital activist formerly based at the MIT Media Lab. She founded the Algorithmic Justice League (AJL), an organization that works to challenge bias in decision-making software, using art, advocacy, and research to highlight the social implications and harms of artificial intelligence (AI).

Buolamwini was born in Edmonton, Alberta, grew up in Mississippi, and attended Cordova High School in Cordova, Tennessee. At age nine, she was inspired by Kismet, the MIT robot, and taught herself XHTML, JavaScript and PHP. As a student-athlete, she was a competitive pole vaulter and played basketball. In a podcast episode she recorded on Brené Brown's show "Dare to Lead", she recalls completing her AP Physics homework between basketball break times.

As an undergraduate, Buolamwini studied computer science at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she researched health informatics. Buolamwini graduated as a Stamps President's Scholar from Georgia Tech in 2012, and was the youngest finalist of the Georgia Tech InVenture Prize in 2009.

Buolamwini is a Rhodes Scholar, a Fulbright fellow, a Stamps Scholar, an Astronaut Scholar, and an Anita Borg Institute scholar. As a Rhodes Scholar, she studied learning and technology at the University of Oxford, where she was a student based at Jesus College, Oxford. During her scholarship she took part in the first formal Service Year, working on community focused projects. She was awarded a Master's Degree in Media Arts & Sciences from MIT in 2017 for research supervised by Ethan Zuckerman. She was awarded a PhD degree in Media Arts & Sciences from the MIT Media Lab in 2022 with a thesis on Facing the Coded Gaze with Evocative Audits and Algorithmic Audits.

Buolamwini's work has had a profound impact on the field of artificial intelligence and the broader conversation around algorithmic bias. Her research has not only exposed critical flaws in facial recognition technology but has also sparked meaningful policy changes and corporate accountability at the highest levels. Her landmark 2018 study, "Gender Shades," co-authored with Timnit Gebru, revealed that facial recognition systems from major technology companies, including IBM, Microsoft, and Face++, performed significantly worse on darker-skinned faces, particularly women. Error rates for darker-skinned women were found to be as high as 34.7%, compared to an error rate of less than 1% for lighter-skinned men. Following the publication of this research, IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon all announced significant updates to their facial recognition products, with IBM eventually discontinuing its facial recognition software altogether in 2020. Buolamwini has testified before the United States Congress on multiple occasions, advocating for stronger regulation of facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence more broadly. Her testimony has contributed to legislative efforts at both the federal and state levels, including the introduction of the Algorithmic Accountability Act. Her 2020 documentary, Coded Bias, directed by Shalini Kantayya, brought her work to a global audience. The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, chronicles Buolamwini's journey from discovering bias in facial recognition software to becoming one of the leading voices in the movement for algorithmic justice. The documentary was nominated for an Emmy Award. Beyond her research and advocacy, Buolamwini has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards. She was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People, received the MIT Media Lab's Disobedience Award, and was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship. Her book, Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What is Human in a World of Machines, published in 2023, further cemented her position as one of the most important voices in the conversation around ethical artificial intelligence. Buolamwini's legacy lies in her ability to bridge the gap between technical research and public policy, ensuring that the voices of marginalized communities are represented in the development of technologies that increasingly shape everyday life.

In 2011, Buolamwini worked with the trachoma program at the Carter Center to develop an Android-based assessment system for use in Ethiopia.

As a Fulbright fellow, in 2013 she worked with local computer scientists in Zambia to help Zambian youth become technology creators. On September 14, 2016, Buolamwini appeared at the White House summit on Computer Science for All.

Buolamwini is widely recognized for her research on bias in facial recognition systems. While working at the MIT Media Lab, she discovered that many artificial intelligence systems had difficulty accurately identifying darker-skinned individuals, particularly women. In some instances, the systems failed to detect her face unless she wore a white mask.