Blog post 3: The Revolution will be Digitized

AI’s Now Discriminating Systems

This article well summarized the gender, sexual and other disparities in the AI industry. I think what I found really interesting is comprehending the idea of an AI system that is bias not only because of the data structures and the algorithm that designed the AI, but also the historical context behind the people who designed the algorithms, and how they perceive / are perceived in our society. 

We often need to consider the world in which we are exposing the technology to. Are there biases only on the back end side of these companies? Are there biases further reinforcing other biases against marginalized communities? This brings into the theme of discriminatory feedback loops. What does it take to break the systems of AI technology that further accentuates discriminatory practices? A lot of these concerns lie within the fundamental problem of historical influences on our cultures and societies. 

Another major concern lies in transparency. Tech companies like google, Facebook, Tesla etc have often provided reports that do not reflect the realities of their companies employment systems. Transparency is another fundamental concern because unless we have the factual truth laying before us, the implementation of such AI systems is long lasting.

OpenAI

This article was decently gripping as the writer talks about OpenAI as what it is generally known for and his experience with OpenAI, their employees and Greg Brockman. What I really liked about this article, was the mocking tone of the writer who questions the fundamental core of OpenAI using various examples like GP2 and others, to make a point about OpenAI's failure to stick to its mission. 

The article points out that the lack of obvious diversity within the company does not serve the company's purpose to 'ensure that the technology is developed safely and its benefits distributed evenly to the world.' I believe this is true as a company developing and working on a single view perspective with employees that often fear retaliation, it is almost impossible to serve humanity with fairness and social compliance. It is well established that diversity has been a topic of criticism within the AI industry, as for OpenAI, it becomes even more lucrative now more than over to ensure diversity as a priority, given their mission statement includes fairness.

Designing Utopia

The worldwide issue that I would like to talk about is digital privacy and footprint, a phenomena that we no more have any control over. I would like to talk about my recent experience at a cafe shop that would help the reader imagine the utopia I am trying to design. This one time I was purchasing a cup of coffee at a cafe close to my school. I swiped my Chase debit card at the register (which had my email id associated with my account at Chase). A little after I left the cafe, I received an email from the cafe thanking me for my visit and offering me discounts and coupons for the next time that I visit. This shook me a little. I started asking myself whether I had given out my email id to the cafe and I did not remember doing so. It scared me to think about who all had immediate access to my information and where is the end point to which this information could reach.

I think the world that I imagine is where data helps without violating an individual's right to privacy while also informing the chain to where the given information leads towards. It would serve a good purpose to share knowledge for a layman who often does not comprehend the impact of technology outside of its 'making life easy' image. What if we could provide information with terms and conditions more comprehend-able for individuals? What if after having known these terms and conditions, we could alter and allow only specific use of the data given out? What if we were told about where this data is shared and who can have access to it? What if we can limit and customize that access to our own comfort?

I am not sure how technology could shape around each individual's comfort, but what I do think is that it is important for technology to allow transparency and the freedom to let a person decide his/her given right over personal data.