Coded Bias explores the fallout of MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini’s discovery that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces accurately, and her journey to push for the first-ever legislation in the U.S. to govern against bias in the algorithms that impact us all.
Synopsis
Modern society sits at the intersection of two crucial questions: What does it mean when artificial intelligence increasingly governs our liberties? And what are the consequences for the people AI is biased against? When MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini discovers that many facial recognition technologies do not accurately detect darker-skinned faces or classify the faces of women, she delves into an investigation of widespread bias in algorithms. As it turns out, artificial intelligence is not neutral, and women are leading the charge to ensure our civil rights are protected.
Data privacy and usage
Ethical dilemmas
Impacts on society
In our increasingly digitized world, we often make casual decisions about data privacy without fully comprehending their implications. Whether it's a social media platform asking for access to our personal information or a productivity app seeking permission to track our activities, these choices may appear inconsequential at the time. However, the documentary "Coded Bias" provides a stark wake-up call, revealing the profound consequences of our interactions with technology, particularly within the context of artificial intelligence.
Consider a scenario where you reluctantly grant an app access to your location, believing it's a minor concession. Fast forward to a moment when the Internal Revenue Service employs facial recognition technology through ID Me for identity verification, only to discover that this widely used system is fundamentally flawed. The revelation, as shocking as it may be, underscores the pervasiveness of data intrusion in our lives. Data has evolved into the most valuable commodity, infiltrating every aspect of our existence.
As technology continues to establish itself as the world's most significant resource, the urgency of technological literacy cannot be overstated. For individuals from low-income backgrounds or marginalized communities, the potential to become victims of technology-induced marginalization looms large. This insidious form of discrimination will persist unless we actively hold tech companies and policymakers accountable for regulating technological products. It's imperative to recognize that much of this predicament stems from our reliance on opaque "black boxes" - algorithms and systems that we've grown disturbingly comfortable with. It's a sobering fact that, even in the United States, regulatory efforts against facial recognition only gained momentum in 2020, following extensive campaigns against its unsafe use.
In light of these revelations, it becomes abundantly clear why every student at Whitman College, indeed, everyone, should watch "Coded Bias." This documentary serves as an urgent reminder of how unregulated artificial intelligence poses one of the most significant challenges to individual development and, more importantly, to social progress. It prompts us to reflect on the profound impact of technology on society, on our lives as students, and on the broader issues that directly affect us, from hiring processes and loan repayments to gender, racial, and religious biases ingrained within these systems. In the end, technology isn't just about what we can gain; it's about the profound changes it can bring to our world and our responsibilities in shaping its trajectory.
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