Importantly, when you think of data, you might think of formal studies in which demographics and representation are carefully considered, limitations are weighed, and then the results are peer-reviewed. That’s not necessarily the case with the AI-based systems that might be used to make a decision about you. Let’s take one source of data everyone has access to: the internet. One study found that, by teaching an artificial intelligence to crawl through the internet — and just reading what humans have already written — the system would produce prejudices against black people and women. Another example of how training data can produce sexism in an algorithm occurred a few years ago, when Amazon tried to use AI to build a résumé-screening tool. According to Reuters, the company’s hope was that technology could make the process of sorting through job applications more efficient. It built a screening algorithm using résumés the company had collected for a decade, but those résumés tended to come from men. That meant the system, in the end, learned to discriminate against women. It also ended up factoring in proxies for gender, like whether an applicant went to a women’s college. (Amazon says the tool was never used and that it was nonfunctional for several reasons.)

*Food for thought: Given that it is known that there is bias in algorithms, why do we (instituitions, companies, governments etc.) still continue to use (and rely on) them?

 Just because a technology is accurate doesn’t make it fair or ethical. For instance, the Chinese government has used artificial intelligence to track and racially profile its largely Muslim Uighur minority, about 1 million of whom are believed to be living in internment camps.

Relevant controversial issues:


Also consider Intersectionality  (intersecting and overlapping social identities- which could prove to be empowering for some, yet oppressing for others)

Pros:
- Convenience for school/teachers- attendance taking etc.
- Safety (especially Covid situation: contact tracing)
- Gives parents the peace of mind knowing the whereabouts of their children

Cons & Limitations:
- Loss of freedom for students (restricted movements)
- Lack of privacy
- Data leak / possible of hacking?-  is the data/network secure?
- Cost/pricing: how much and who is to bear for the cost?

Possible Controversial issues: 

- Security at the cost of privacy 
- Needs vs Desires (from whose perspective?) 
- Freedom/Independence vs State/institutional control 

Sendai City, Japan, is designated as a National Strategic Special Zone by the government, where it is focused on the use of the latest ICT technology to develop an emergency tsunami response system. Nokia Drone Network has collaborated with them to send out drones equipped with thermal cameras and loudspeakers, which will be activated when tsunami alerts arrive in. These drones will transmit real-time information on the disaster’s impact, find people who may be trapped under the stubble, provide evacuation alerts and operate reliably as it is powered on a private server. 

It is ethical because human lives are not risked as bots are being deployed automatically instead of humans. (sanctity of life)

Might be bad because people may misuse the technology -> stalk people at home, intrude their privacy -> might be hacked (alarms don’t sound, more deaths)

- Dorcas, Elsa and Jing Xuan

France skin graft: Twin’s skin saves man with 95% burns 

Skin grafting is a type of surgery which involves the transplanting of a good set of healthy skin to cover damaged or missing skin. Within a few days the skin transplanted souls be able to grow its own set of blood vessel and connect to the skin around it.

A man arrived at the hospital in critical condition with deep burns due to an accident at work. In order to restore the damaged skin, a skin graft was donated to him by his twin which was genetically identical to his skin. It took him 10 graft surgeries to receive thin layers of skin from his brother’s scalp and leave the rehabilitation centre. 

Skin grafting can cause up to $6000 which may be too costly for the financially abled families. This can cause a socio-economic divide between the wealthy and the poor as the poor may not be able to afford skin grafting.

-Tessa the pretty and ayrton.