Abstract: A century ago, Sociologist W.E.B. DuBois posed the question, "How does it feel to be a problem?" speaking then of the Negro's place in the world. But what does it mean to be a problem in the context of computing technology? I argue that the relationship between African Americans and other people of color to computing technology has been mediated by "the problem." In this talk I tell the story of how Black people became the nation's (U.S.) first problem for computers to solve, the consequences of that relationship, and the lessons it provides about how we frame today's technological solutions for the future.

Bio: Author of the new book Black Software: The Internet & Racial Justice, From the Afronet to Black Lives Matter, Charlton McIlwain is Vice Provost for Faculty Engagement & Development at New York University and Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication. His work focuses on the intersections of computing technology, race, inequality, and racial justice activism. In addition to Black Software, McIlwain has authored Racial Formation, Inequality & the Political Economy of Web Traffic, in the journal Information, Communication & Society, and co-authored, with Deen Freelon and Meredith Clark, the recent report Beyond the Hashtags: Ferguson, #BlackLivesMatter, and the Online Struggle for Offline Justice. He recently testified before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services about the impacts of automation and artificial intelligence on the financial services sector.