Science Friday- Why Machines Discriminate—and How to Fix Them

What it does

Big data sets can perpetuate the same biases present in our culture, teaching machines to discriminate when scanning resumes and approving loans.

Some believers in big data have claimed that, in big data sets, “ the numbers speak for themselves .” Or in other words, the more data available to them, the closer machines can get to achieving objectivity in their decision-making. But data researcher Kate Crawford says that’s not always the case, because big data sets can perpetuate the same biases present in our culture, teaching machines to discriminate when scanning resumes or approving loans, for example. And when algorithms do discriminate, computer scientist Suresh Venkatasubramanian says he tends to hear expressions of disbelief, such as, “ Algorithms are just code—they only do what you tell them .”…from sciencefriday.com

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