I've heard many talks by Ruha Benjamin and others on some of the critical themes covered in this book: how facially "neutral" designs can ossify and expand inequity, how attempts to reduce bias can in fact increase it, etc. I've even heard many of the examples in this book before: the shockingly racist systems embedded in film development technology, the replication of eugenics throughout the decades, and so on. But this book covers each topic with a rigor and depth that is so illuminating, so insightful, that it demands to be read if you're even peripherally connected or use technology (basically everyone).

Benjamin delivers a clarion call for thinking through the systems in which we embed technology, the need to question what is measured and optimized, and the importance of building or dismantling systems to bring about a more just world. I can't recommend this book highly enough.