All Narratives (328)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 5 min
- ZDNet
- 2020
In recent municipal elections in Brazil, the software and hardware of a machine learning technology provided by Oracle failed to properly do its job in counting the votes. This ultimately led to a delay in the results, as the AI had not been properly calibrated beforehand.
- ZDNet
- 2020
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- 5 min
- ZDNet
- 2020
AI Failure in Elections
In recent municipal elections in Brazil, the software and hardware of a machine learning technology provided by Oracle failed to properly do its job in counting the votes. This ultimately led to a delay in the results, as the AI had not been properly calibrated beforehand.
Who had responsibility to fully test and calibrate this AI before it was used for an election? What sorts of more dire consequences could result from a failure of AI to properly count votes? What are the implications of an American tech monopoly providing this faulty technology to another country’s elections?
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- 5 min
- Gizmodo
- 2020
This article describes the new Amazon Sidewalk feature and subsequently explains why users should not buy into this service. Essentially, this feature uses the internet of things created by Amazon devices such as the Echo or Ring camera to create a secondary network connecting nearby homes which also contain these devices, which is sustained by each home “donating” a small amount of broadband. It is explained that this is a dangerous concept because this smaller network may be susceptible to hackers, putting a large number of users at risk.
- Gizmodo
- 2020
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- 5 min
- Gizmodo
- 2020
You Need to Opt Out of Amazon Sidewalk
This article describes the new Amazon Sidewalk feature and subsequently explains why users should not buy into this service. Essentially, this feature uses the internet of things created by Amazon devices such as the Echo or Ring camera to create a secondary network connecting nearby homes which also contain these devices, which is sustained by each home “donating” a small amount of broadband. It is explained that this is a dangerous concept because this smaller network may be susceptible to hackers, putting a large number of users at risk.
Why are “secondary networks” like the one described here a bad idea in terms of both surveillance and data privacy? Is it possible for the world to be too networked? How can tech developers make sure the general public has a healthy skepticism toward new devices? Or is it ultimately Amazon’s job to think about the ethical implications of this secondary network before introducing it for profits?
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- 8 min
- Kinolab
- 1997
Dr. Ellie Arroway is a scientist who has been chosen to make contact with the first confirmed extraterrestrial life. However, as contact with the start system Vega advances, religious fanatics and other extremist groups prepare for the moment of interaction. This moment in the film juxtaposes how Ellie, an atheist scientist, only looks forward to the scientific progress toward extraterrestrial contact while others, including the religious extremists, fear it. In general, this clip explores how technology can have diverse social impact and the hysteria that it can foster as it shatters preconceived notions. Later, one such religious terrorist sabotages the transport of Dr. Drumlin in the new machine through a suicide bombing, killing them both.
- Kinolab
- 1997
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- 8 min
- Kinolab
- 1997
Technology Versus Religious Fanaticism
Dr. Ellie Arroway is a scientist who has been chosen to make contact with the first confirmed extraterrestrial life. However, as contact with the start system Vega advances, religious fanatics and other extremist groups prepare for the moment of interaction. This moment in the film juxtaposes how Ellie, an atheist scientist, only looks forward to the scientific progress toward extraterrestrial contact while others, including the religious extremists, fear it. In general, this clip explores how technology can have diverse social impact and the hysteria that it can foster as it shatters preconceived notions. Later, one such religious terrorist sabotages the transport of Dr. Drumlin in the new machine through a suicide bombing, killing them both.
How might technological advancement challenge preconceived notions of the world, especially religious ones? Are science, computer science, and innovation sorts of religions in their own right? In an increasingly networked world, how do extremist enclaves rally together to pose a threat to humanity? How can ignorance be combatted in an age where information can be accessed quickly and technology changes the landscape of society?
Contact: Science and Faith-
- 4 min
- OneZero
- 2020
A group of “Face Queens” (Dr. Timnit Gebru, Joy Buolamwini, and Deborah Raji) have joined forces to do important racial justice and equity work in the field of computer vision, struggling against racism in the industry to whistleblow against biased machine learning and computer vision technologies still deployed by companies like Amazon.
- OneZero
- 2020
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- 4 min
- OneZero
- 2020
Dr. Timnit Gebru, Joy Buolamwini, Deborah Raji — an Enduring Sisterhood of Face Queens
A group of “Face Queens” (Dr. Timnit Gebru, Joy Buolamwini, and Deborah Raji) have joined forces to do important racial justice and equity work in the field of computer vision, struggling against racism in the industry to whistleblow against biased machine learning and computer vision technologies still deployed by companies like Amazon.
How can the charge led by these women for more equitable computer vision technologies be made even more visible? Should people need high degrees to have a voice in fighting against technologies which are biased against them? How can corporations be made to listen to voices such as those of the Face Queens?
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- 5 min
- NPR
- 2020
After the FTC and 48 States charged Facebook with being a monopoly in late 2020, the FTC continues the push for accountability of tech monopolies by demanding that large social network companies, including Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter, share exactly what they do with user data in hopes of increased transparency. Pair with “Facebook hit with antitrust lawsuit from FTC and 48 state attorneys general“
- NPR
- 2020
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- 5 min
- NPR
- 2020
Amazon, TikTok, Facebook, Others Ordered To Explain What They Do With User Data
After the FTC and 48 States charged Facebook with being a monopoly in late 2020, the FTC continues the push for accountability of tech monopolies by demanding that large social network companies, including Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter, share exactly what they do with user data in hopes of increased transparency. Pair with “Facebook hit with antitrust lawsuit from FTC and 48 state attorneys general“
Do you think that users, especially younger users, would trade their highly-tailored recommender system and social network experiences for data privacy? How much does transparency of tech monopolies help when many people are not fluent in the concept of how algorithms work? Should social media companies release the abstractions of users that it forms using data?
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- 7 min
- The New Republic
- 2020
The narrative of Dr. Timnit Gebru’s termination from Google is inextricably bound with Google’s irresponsible practices with training data for its machine learning algorithms. Using large data sets to train Natural Language Processing algorithms is ultimately a harmful practice because for all the harms to the environment and biases against certain languages it causes, machines still cannot fully comprehend human language.
- The New Republic
- 2020
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- 7 min
- The New Republic
- 2020
Who Gets a Say in Our Dystopian Tech Future?
The narrative of Dr. Timnit Gebru’s termination from Google is inextricably bound with Google’s irresponsible practices with training data for its machine learning algorithms. Using large data sets to train Natural Language Processing algorithms is ultimately a harmful practice because for all the harms to the environment and biases against certain languages it causes, machines still cannot fully comprehend human language.
Should machines be trusted to handle and process the incredibly nuanced meaning of human language? How do different understandings of what languages and words mean and represent become harmful when a minority of people are deciding how to train NLP algorithms? How do tech monopolies prevent more diverse voices from entering this conversation?