Professor Kim’s Op-Ed in Scientific American Describes Racist Assumptions in CG Research

SciAm
August 19, 2020

In an opinion article published online in Scientific American, Professor Theodore Kim describes racist assumptions that have pervaded computer graphics research for the last two decades.

In the article, he describes how the technical definitions of “skin” and “hair” being used to guide algorithm development have become an insidious shorthand for the visual characteristics of white skin and hair. He provides a litany of examples, and urges researchers to think more broadly going forward.

The article can be read here:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-racist-legacy-of-computer-generated-humans/

Professor Kim posted supporting evidence to Twitter here:

https://bit.ly/321bbhT

https://bit.ly/31cjQiB

https://bit.ly/2EarHUC