After all the concerns raised by ChatGPT’s data outage on the past 20th of March, we quickly observed some reactions from the outside world. The most forceful one? Italy banning ChatGPT for data privacy concerns. Nearly one month after the incident, OpenAI has already taken some actions regarding user data privacy: The possibility to turn off the chat history … [Read more...] about What ChatGPT Knows about You: OpenAI’s Journey Towards Data Privacy
Ethics & Safety
Data Capitalism: Innovation, Extraction, Social Conscience
How to advance social capital in a world increasingly governed by surveillance capitalism? About a year ago, I read Atlas of AI by Kate Crawford, a brilliant analysis of the extractive processes that govern the field of machine learning, from environmental resource allocation to the harvesting of our political fabric to data privacy infringements. This article … [Read more...] about Data Capitalism: Innovation, Extraction, Social Conscience
Eliminating AI Bias
Evidence of AI Bias The primary purpose of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is to reduce manual labour by using a machine’s ability to scan large amounts of data to detect underlying patterns and anomalies in order to save time and raise efficiency. However, AI algorithms are not immune to bias. AI Bias has presented itself in several forms, with some examples highlighted … [Read more...] about Eliminating AI Bias
The Essential Data Ethics Course For Everyone Working In Tech
fast.ai has just released a free, online course on Applied Data Ethics, which contains essential knowledge for anyone working in data science or impacted by technology. The course focus is on topics that are both urgent and practical, causing real harm right now. In keeping with the fast.ai teaching philosophy, we will begin with two active, real-world areas … [Read more...] about The Essential Data Ethics Course For Everyone Working In Tech
Programming Fairness in Algorithms
Being good is easy, what is difficult is being just. ― Victor HugoWe need to defend the interests of those whom we’ve never met and never will. ― Jeffrey D. Sachs Note: This article is intended for a general audience to try and elucidate the complicated nature of unfairness in machine learning algorithms. As such, I have tried to explain concepts in an accessible way … [Read more...] about Programming Fairness in Algorithms
Guide to Interpretable Machine Learning
If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough. — Albert Einstein Disclaimer: This article draws and expands upon material from (1) Christoph Molnar’s excellent book on Interpretable Machine Learning which I definitely recommend to the curious reader, (2) a deep learning visualization workshop from Harvard ComputeFest 2020, as … [Read more...] about Guide to Interpretable Machine Learning
Top 12 AI Ethics Research Papers Introduced In 2019
As the importance of ethical considerations in AI applications is being recognized not only by ethicists and researchers but also by industry tech leaders, AI ethics research is moving from general definitions of fairness and bias to more in-depth analysis. The research papers introduced in 2019 define comprehensive terminology for communicating about ML fairness, go from … [Read more...] about Top 12 AI Ethics Research Papers Introduced In 2019
Pay Attention to That Man Behind the Curtain
AI bias doesn’t come from AI algorithms, it comes from people. What does that mean and what can we do about it? Technology is not free of humans No technology is free of its creators. Despite our fondest sci-fi wishes, there’s no such thing as ML/AI systems that are truly separate and autonomous… because they start with us. All technology is an echo of the wishes of … [Read more...] about Pay Attention to That Man Behind the Curtain
How to Prevent Embarrassment in AI
How will you prevent embarrassment in machine learning? The answer is… partially. Expect the unexpected! Wise product managers and designers might save your skin by seeing some issues coming a mile off and helping you cook a preventative fix into your production code. Unfortunately, AI systems are complex and your team usually won’t think of everything. There will be … [Read more...] about How to Prevent Embarrassment in AI
Algorithmic Solutions to Algorithmic Bias: A Technical Guide
I want to talk about technical approaches to mitigating algorithmic bias. It’s 2019, and the majority of the ML community is finally publicly acknowledging the prevalence and consequences of bias in ML models. For years, dozens of reports by organizations such as ProPublica and the New York Times have been exposing the scale of algorithmic discrimination in criminal risk … [Read more...] about Algorithmic Solutions to Algorithmic Bias: A Technical Guide