When I present on panels about equitable and inclusive design, there are two areas I emphasize; as both a social scientist and tech ethicist, these are the areas where we, as humans have the greatest opportunity to bring about transformative change. The first and most fundamental tool we have within our arsenal is the call-in. The call-in is the seed from which the best accessible, equitable, and inclusive products and processes take shape. Who am I designing this for? Who am I designing it with? If they are not one and the same, we must go back and begin again. …
Ethical Technology
In as many years, 3 Black men have had their lives upended by wrongful arrests. Robert Williams, Michael Oliver, and Nijeer Parks were misidentified by facial recognition software, arrested, and held under suspicion of crimes ranging from petty theft to assault of a police officer. For Parks, who was accused of the more serious crimes of assault and eluding the police, the fight to clear his name went on for the better part of a year. Before his case was thrown out of court, and his name cleared, Parks would go on to spend 10 days in jai,l all due to …
I recently sat down with a group to discuss the pros and cons of emerging technologies from my perspective as both anthropologist and ethical technologist; specifically, smart lock systems. For those who may be unfamiliar with smart lock systems, they are a relatively new technological advancement that uses image and facial recognition software to enable users entry to businesses and residences thereby eliminating physical keys; this technology is believed to increase safety and ease of accessibility. No more misplaced and lost keys, costly locksmith services, and the ease of allowing temporary and/or limited access to vendors, guests, and service providers. …
One of the biggest misconceptions about tech is aptly summarized by Hessie Jones, “[Tech is]afforded a supremacy that humans feel comfortable not questioning. And yet, technology isn’t just a neutral tool.” As AI/ML continues to become rapidly enmeshed in our daily lives, so have discussions of ethics, and the lack thereof, in tech. The dangers of the myriad intersectional biases in tech design have made their way from the confines of esoteric spaces into broader mainstream discussions of diversity, equity, inclusion, and ethics. Although many big tech companies are hiring in-house DEI consultants and broaching the topic of more equitable …
Gut Reaction Droplets of water building until the cup overflows You spend time. Spend effort. And when you see a final product, without your name- without your history- you wonder if you’re the one who’s crazy. Recently, CBS’s 60-minutes aired a segment on racial bias in facial recognition technology, referring to a December 2019 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) study as a “landmark study” while failing to mention the groundbreaking research on which the NIST study was based, and conducted by AI-research pioneers and Black women, Joy Buolamwini, Dr. Timnit Gebru and Inioluwa Deborah Raji. Ms. Buolamwini, who …