All things AI
What is an algorithm?
An algorithm is a set of instructions for how a computer should accomplish a particular task.
What is a Black Box?
The Black box is used to describe when the algorithm used to make decisions isn't transparent to the user.
Which social platform was under fire for enabling housing discrimination?
Is there racial bias in our healthcare system? Y/N
yes
Who is excluded in the binary coded system?
trans, nonbinary, queer people
AI describes systematic and repeatable errors that create unfair outcomes in society.
Is variable pricing regulated in the US? T/F
false
The most marginalized in society. (POC, low income, etc.)
According to the algorithm, which demographic of people need more care?
White people
Harm inflicted on trans and gender nonconforming people not only by government-run systems, but also the information systems that permeate our everyday social lives.
Does attraction play a role in algorithmic bias? Y/N
yes; (ex: smiling vs. no smiling)
Was Google's AI photo-tagging successful? Why or why not?
no, b/c systematic bias bled into the algorithm... thus enabling algorithmic inequality.
What is an example of a digital poor house given to us by Virginia Eubanks?
invisible web woven of fiber-optic threads, microphone, camera, fingerprint scanner, GPS tracker, trip wire, crystal ball, general data tracking devices used to target the poor.
Why do Black people often spend less money than White people in healthcare?
Black people face disproportionate levels of poverty that restricts them from accessing the same level of care as Whites.
What's another name for the binary value?
Boolean
What is rational discrimination?
Ignoring the bias that already exists
What came up in the search engine for a black male as opposed to a white male?
black male = assaulted
white male = entitled to
What governmental Act made housing discrimination illegal? (even though it still technically happens)
The Fair Housing Act of 1968
COMPAS. "used across the country to assess the risk of recidivism for defendants in pretrial hearings. The system operates on numerous points of data, such as questions about whether parents had separated and how many friends had been arrested, to make sentencing recommendations to judges."
What is the problem with Facebook simply giving users the options to identify as either "male," "female," or "custom?"
the way the system actually stores the data is that each user is recorded (and sold to advertisers) as male, female, or null.
What is Algorithmic Accountability?
The process of assigning responsibility for harm when algorithmic decision-making results in discriminatory and inequitable outcomes.
What are examples of the consequences of machine learning for two past presidential candidates? (Who were the candidates, and what came up in the search?)
Obama, and Romney; searching "Obama" yielded Obama results, and searching "Romney" yielded nothing.
Maine legislatives introduced a bill that required TANF families to retain all cash receipts for twelve months, in order to facilitate state audits of their spending. Why was this bad?
Such legislation is part of the performative politics governing poverty. It is not intended to work; it is intended to heap stigma on social programs and reinforce the misleading narrative that those who access public assistance are criminal, lazy, spendthrift addicts.