Source Collect: The Algorithmic Racial Proxy

Algorithms shape our modern world, determining everything from which ads we might see on Instagram to who is afforded access to credit. Yet if you're not a machine learning engineer, it's hard to discern what decisions go into the development of these algorithms. That question -- what input decisions go into the creation of machine learning algorithms -- motivated Professor Fanna Gamal's latest article, The Algorithmic Racial Proxy. Professor Gamal, Assistant Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law, noticed that developers often exclude race and racial proxy variables as an input when creating machine learning algorithms. 

So what exactly is a racial proxy? Why is that a legally difficult question to answer, and what are the implications of allowing those who develop machine learning algorithms to decide. On today's episode, Professor Gamal joins Source Collect to discuss her article, The Algorithmic Racial Proxy, published in the April 2026 issue of the California Law Review.