This blog is part of a series on technology innovation and free expression.
In all likelihood, President-elect Trump will repeal Biden’s Executive Orders (EOs) on racial justice (EOs 13985, 13988, 14020, 14021, 14031, 14035, and 14091.) Although repealing these EOs is a large step toward reinstating values once thought concomitant with American culture (equality, freedom of speech, and individuality, to name a few), doing so may not be enough.
An EO comparable to Trump’s “anti-woke” EO 13950, which prohibits federal contractors from providing “divisive” workplace diversity training and programs, may not be enough. Even if illiberal modes of anti-racism are mitigated in some circumstances, their systemic presence may still pose a problem.
Some scholars and activists adopt a “Theory of Racelessness,” which I believe the Trump administration should consider. The definitive book on this is Dr. Sheena Mason’s Theory of Racelessness: A Case for Antirace(ism). “Racelessness,” according to Mason, is a skeptical eliminativist disposition toward race. This just means that people who abide by the theory of racelessness neither believe race is real nor think we should be racializing people at all. Basically, racism will go away if race goes away.
Of course, most anti-racists take issue with racelessness, especially those steeped in the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) industry, but their reasons are decidedly illiberal. For them, colorblindness, a concept simply denoting the belief that race need not be considered when evaluating someone, is not a virtue but a vice; it promotes ignoring race and racism. For this reason, the immutable characteristic of race, not merit, achievement, and virtue, is the primary factor in determining one’s character.
Also, DEI is a multibillion-dollar industry. Eradicating race, then, would not be in the best financial interests of DEI professionals. One can conclude that DEI professionals do not want to get beyond race and racism.
Modern technology is not immune from the pressures of these opposing visions of race. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) soaks up the racism displayed in popular culture and social media: AI algorithms have resulted in linguistic racism, racial disparities in health care, aesthetic discrimination, and the misrecognition of black people as people. While humans should consider jettisoning the concept of race, private companies are allowed to address racism in their products in the ways they see fit.
However, through the regulation of technology companies and the government’s purchase of countless technological products and services, the government should adopt a policy of racelessness. Of course, ending affirmative action in the federal government and other preferential programs would also be a necessary preliminary step to racelessness. Elimination of DEI initiatives within the government would strike a formidable blow to the concepts of race and racism while removing censorious and innovation-crippling impacts on technology.
The federal government, through both executive and legislative branches, should do the following:
