Data Discrimination: the *isms in the algorithms!
30 July 2024
Time: 18:30 – 21:30
Moos Space
Moosdorfstraße 7-9
12435, Berlin
This event addressed critical issues surrounding the inherent biases in algorithms and their societal impacts. The debate focussed on the following pressing questions:
- How can we disrupt centuries-old systems that have continuously privileged certain societal groups, thereby perpetuating inequality?
- In what ways do these entrenched biases shape our future, embedding exclusionary practices into our technologies?
- Is technological advancement destined to reinforce exclusion, or can we pave the way towards true inclusivity and justice?
The discussion was an exploration into the crossroads of human rights, scholarship and technology delving deep into the pervasive issues of discrimination and bias entrenched within algorithms. The focus extended to critical dimensions encompassing and emphasising the intersectionality of inclusivity and equity when discussing topics of data and AI. The debate highlighted the ethics and drew attention to the societal impacts.
Listen to the event
Resources discussed on the evening by the panel
- Introduction to Digital Humanism: A Textbook
- Dilemmas in a general theory of planning
- On the dangers of stochastic parrots: Can language models be too big?
- AI for Whom? Shedding Critical Light on AI for Social Good
- Combating Harmful Hype in Natural Language Processing
- Case Study: Algorithmic Decision-Making and Accountability
- A Guide to Solving Social Problems with Machine Learning
- Algorithmic Accountability: A Primer, Robyn Caplan, et al.
Moderator
Ame Elliott is a designer, researcher and creative technologist interested in how technology encodes values and can shift power. A senior fellow at American NGO Superbloom, her work explores the intersection of technology and system change. As Design Director for Simply Secure, she led multidisciplinary teams of researchers, software developers and policy experts working on privacy and accountability for artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and digital rights applications. During her time at IDEO San Francisco, she led tech strategy projects for Fortune 500 companies, guiding projects from initial concept through prototyping and in-market launch. As a research scientist at Xerox PARC, she developed early IoT applications and researched network security. She holds eight patents and was recognised as a Most Creative Person in Business by Fast Company. Ame earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in Human-Computer Interaction.
Debaters
Dmitri S. Katz, works at the intersection of health, technology and human-centered design. His approach is rooted in empathy, critical analysis, collaborative problem solving and iterative design. His primary research interests include diabetes self-management, design for active ageing and human-centered machine learning. Dr. Katz is engaged in various projects, from communication technology for non-verbal children with cerebral palsy to patient journey software for clinical care. His past collaborations include The Open University, University of Limerick, University of Bristol, and Roche Diabetes Care. He has advised digital health startups in Germany and the UK and has been recognized with awards such as a Google Scholarship, EU Marie-Curie Fellowship, and an honourable mention at CHI. https://tinyurl.com/238d3nxa
Marit Brademann is a graduate social scientist, artistic researcher and team lead in the digital engineering and ethical design space. She currently is a Graduate Student at the University of Edinburgh in Epistemology, Ethics and Philosophy of Mind. Her interest in the ever learning, ever changing human reflect upon her critical stance towards the generation of behavioural or observation data that wants to predict, rather than interrogate, as well as in her interest in embodied knowledge and its relationship to civil rights. She is also the Co-Founder of the Stanford Alumni Publication ‘The Ethical Tech Digest’, as well as Berlin’s ‘Data Science for Social Good’ non-profit organisation. A recent participant in the Summer School on Responsible AI of the worlds largest Artificial Intelligence Lab, MILA, she is contributing to the development of an ethical design framework, accounting for the complexity of AI Alignment.
Jérôme Bau is a technical founder with a background in statistics with around 10 years of building products around ML and AI. He previously founded Creatext, a Salestech startup, that was acquired last year and founded Cuinti earlier this year. He is an active startup mentor and tech advisor, especially for training and hosting large language models as well as the data pipelines around it.
Partners
The Y Berlin is a new community design lab within MOOS supporting the blend of technology and community. Their aim is to curate spaces that foster connections deeper than mere cohabitation.
www.moos.garden