Documentary Traces AI's Eugenicist Roots and Harms

Valerie Veatch’s documentary Ghost in the Machine, screened in Sundance’s NEXT program at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, traces how modern AI’s emphasis on “general intelligence” draws from early eugenics, IQ testing and racialized hierarchies. Using archival footage and interviews with anthropologists, historians and computer scientists, the film argues that sexist and racist logics shaped Silicon Valley innovation and continue to influence data practices and AI design.
Scoring Rationale
Broad, timely critique with industry-wide relevance; limited by documentary format and lack of new empirical research.
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