Algorithmic Biases
In this present time, we are seeing a rise in the use of artificial intelligence in our digital and offline worlds in different industries and sectors. Long ago there was barely any research on the benefits of artificial intelligence or its disadvantages but now there are several publications if not more that discuss and analyze the uses of artificial intelligence in our daily lives and in the professional world.
Artificial intelligence was primarily designed to facilitate a smoother and more simpler process in the world of technology and create new possibilities with technology that can be said to be useful in the lives of ordinary people like Apple’s Siri and Google Home and Amazon’s Alexa because we see these devices and technology in our homes, in our working lives as well as all around us in the environment. Because smartphones are so common in society nowadays, most people may have already come to a head with artificial intelligence technology when they speak into their device’s digital assistant to ask for directions, or search for something online, or call someone in their contact list. It can be said that the creators of these artificial intelligence technologies would have the best interests of their client base in mind because they are providing an efficient and productive service a human would otherwise not have to do themselves.
In the world of academia though, it is argued by some that algorithms which artificial intelligence softwares operate on can be biased and prejudiced in producing or processing information in an impartial way. There is an argument made by Safiya Umoja Noble in her 2018 book titled ‘Algorithms of Oppression : How Search Engines Reinforce Racism’, that search engines such as Google or Bing or Yahoo are complicit in the uses of algorithms that discrminate against black, latino and other coloured individuals and that creators of AI softwares are ultimately behind it because they feed the algorithm with specific data and format it to produce specific data too that may be perceived as being biased or impartial to people from certain communities. This book delves into the processes of how information comes to be collected and organised in the world of algorithms and artifical intelligence, and takes accounts from black people about their experiences of such technology.
During the process of algorithms being created, human biases and errors in the data programming may be the cause of some algorithmic biases and affect reliability and fairness of specific results generated. There can be algorithmic biases found in the industries of healthcare, advertising, media and IT as well as in many others. Therefore, it can be argued appropiately that sometimes artificial intelligence software and computer-operated algorithms are not as impartial when it comes to generating results or information but can even be in the business of discrminating against people based on their gender, their age, their ethnic or rocial background and even their income status. The book by Safiya Nobile perfectly discusses and explores some of the issues that exisit within the world of algorithms.
References list:
- IBM Data and AI Team (2024). AI Bias Examples | IBM. [online] Ibm.com. Available at: https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/shedding-light-on-ai-bias-with-real-world-examples.
- Noble, S.U. (2018). Algorithms of Oppression : How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. New York: New York University Press.
By: Abdikarim Hussein Abdi
In this blog, the author mentions the algorithmic application of artificial intelligence, as stated in the blog, the application of algorithmic technology has been integrated into every aspect of our lives. However, it has to be mentioned that the current algorithm technology is still not mature enough, such as the bias and discrimination written in the blog, which is a problem worthy of attention and needs continuous improvement by relevant researchers. In addition, in the era of big data artificial intelligence, personal privacy has also become an issue that cannot be ignored. Although algorithms can help us provide more personalized recommendations, sometimes when I search for an item in one APP on my phone, and I open another APP, it will send me the content I searched for earlier. Every time I encounter this kind of situation, I feel like I’m being watched rather than I like the surprise of being guessed. So I think bloggers can also focus on the privacy issues brought about by AI algorithms. This blog shows the algorithms and limitations of the Internet society, and inspires readers to think more deeply. I think this is a very good blog!