The Contours of an Invisible Rainbow: the MIT "Gaydar" Study, Facebook, and the Global LGBTQ+ Situation (2009-2017)

The Contours of an Invisible Rainbow: the MIT "Gaydar" Study, Facebook, and the Global LGBTQ+ Situation (2009-2017)

In 2009, two young researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology quietly shocked the world when they presented their "gaydar" study. They showed that the composition of friendships can be used to infer an individual's inner life: they analyzed 4,080 profiles from the facebook network and found that if a person's friends were more likely to be men who preferred the same sex, they were more likely to be so themselves. Even without any special declarations, the study revealed the horror of the hidden attributes that can be revealed only by the connections with the people around you.

Furthermore, in 2017, researchers at Stanford University attempted to infer an individual's orientation based on facial features and found that they were right on target more than 80% of the time for men and 74% of the time for women. However, the results drew both praise and intense criticism. The unwanted reading of sensitive information can sometimes be life-threatening.

In fact, British newspapers reported that in 2013, homosexuality was illegal in about 40% of the world's countries. In former British territories in particular, the legal system of the past still casts a shadow and is a hotbed of repression. In Jamaica, a young man was tragically killed by a mob because of his cross-dressing. There was indeed a world in which one's clothing could make one a target of hatred.

The technology that makes invisible rainbows appear both expands and constrains people's freedom. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's research has once again shown us the deep shadows that lurk behind the lights of progress. A new dialogue based on ethics and human rights is now desperately needed.