The perils of AI bias

If technology is to live up to its utopian vision, we will need to understand its full sociological effects

When I spotted my MacBook lying precariously on the floor recently, I flinched. A friend noticed my reaction: “Apple products are the rich, white people of hardware technology,” he quipped. For fun, we tried to see how far we could stretch the analogy: Apple products are treated better than others; they command a premium based on appearance; and they spend most of their time interacting with other Apple products rather than syncing with the rest of the hardware world. I found myself thinking of other ways in which technology mirrors unfair social structures — or even reinforces them. Futuristic innovations such as artificial intelligence may be rooted in decidedly retro power relations.

Read more

https://www.ft.com/content/37a1ddd2-5a54-11e9-939a-341f5ada9d40