{"id":61488,"date":"2017-11-16T15:03:16","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T20:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danielschristian.com\/learning-ecosystems\/?p=61488"},"modified":"2017-11-16T15:24:16","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T20:24:16","slug":"the-ivory-tower-cant-keep-ignoring-tech-oneil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danielschristian.com\/learning-ecosystems\/2017\/11\/16\/the-ivory-tower-cant-keep-ignoring-tech-oneil\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ivory Tower Can\u2019t Keep Ignoring Tech [O’Neil]"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ivory Tower Can\u2019t Keep Ignoring Tech<\/strong> <\/a>— from nytimes.com by Cathy O’Neil<\/p>\n

Excerpt:<\/em><\/p>\n

We need academia to step up to fill in the gaps in our collective understanding about the new role of technology in shaping our lives. We need robust research on hiring algorithms that seem to filter out people<\/a> with mental health disorders, sentencing algorithms that fail twice as often<\/a> for black defendants as for white defendants, statistically flawed public teacher assessments<\/a> or oppressive scheduling algorithms<\/a>. And we need research to ensure that the same mistakes aren\u2019t made again and again. It\u2019s absolutely within the abilities of academic research to study such examples and to push against the most obvious statistical, ethical or constitutional failures and dedicate serious intellectual energy to finding solutions. And whereas professional technologists working at private companies are not in a position to critique their own work, academics theoretically enjoy much more freedom of inquiry.<\/p>\n

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There is essentially no distinct field of academic study that takes seriously the responsibility of understanding and critiquing the role of technology \u2014 and specifically, the algorithms that are responsible for so many decisions \u2014 in our lives.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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There\u2019s one solution for the short term. We urgently need an academic institute focused on algorithmic accountability. First, it should provide a comprehensive ethical training for future engineers and data scientists at the undergraduate and graduate levels, with case studies taken from real-world algorithms that are choosing the winners from the losers. Lecturers from humanities, social sciences and philosophy departments should weigh in.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Somewhat related:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n