In this re-released episode first published on 17th November 2025 Guilaine reflects on how, seemingly paradoxically, when Black people (and other marginalised groups) are idealised in the workplace it can put them at risk, and result in their denigration and/or devaluation.

She begins by looking an an example, a Black doctor mentioned in Black Skin, White Masks by Franz Fanon: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/313127/black-skin-white-masks-by-fanon-frantz/9780241396667

She expands on this concept to detail the ways that this doctor might be exceptionalised and idealised due to being a competent and skilled person from a group that is not seen to have those qualities. And how this sets them up to fail when any mistake is made on their part resulting in a pendulum swing where they are often seen as betraying the person or institution that was idealising them.

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In today's episode Simone reflects on some research work that looks at AI hiring algorithms. They begin by looking at an article on how AI creates bias when screening resumes because it is designed to generalise (ie stereotype). They continue by looking at a study of racial bias and systemic rejection in AI hiring tools, and some other articles around this topic.

The conclusions they come to from all of this is that these algorithms don’t just regurgitate the racism from within their programmers, and the culture that surrounds them, they also create bias as part of how they function. These algorithms and the tools that use them are "pervasively adopted, highly consequential and opaque to the public”, and whilst they are presented as objective and neutral that is very much not the case.

References:

AI is more likely than humans to form biases when hiring by Michelle Kim https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/20/1140655/ai-biases-hiring-humans/

AI Hiring Tools Can Yield Racial Bias and Systemic Rejection https://hai.stanford.edu/news/ai-hiring-tools-can-yield-racial-bias-and-systemic-rejection

AI is reinventing hiring — with the same old biases by Emilio J. Castilla https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/ai-reinventing-hiring-same-old-biases-heres-how-to-avoid-trap

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In today's episode Guilaine shares some news about changes and developments for the Race Reflections Foundation Course in Group Analysis & Racial Trauma (IGA Approved) ahead of the launch of its next iteration.

There will be an Open Day/Launch Event on 14th September at 4pm UK Time to cover the updated course: https://racereflections.co.uk/events/launch-event-foundation-course-in-group-analysis-racial-trauma-iga-approved/

Here is a Curriculum Overview: https://racereflections.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Curriculum-Overview-2027-PDF-1.pdf

These are previous podcast episodes about the course from last year:

Introduction to the certificate in working with racial trauma and race based injuries using the foundation of group analysis https://www.buzzsprout.com/1623760/episodes/15148619

Opportunities for support within Race Reflections Foundation Course in Group Analysis that centres racial trauma https://www.buzzsprout.com/1623760/episodes/17930974

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