Accountability (37)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 5 min
- GIS Lounge
- 2019
GIS, a relatively new form of computational analysis, can often contain algorithms with biases based on biases present in the training data from open data sources, with this case study focusing on the tendency of power-line identification data being centered around the Western world. This problem can be improved by approaching data collection with more intentionality, either broadening the pool of collected geographic data or inputting artificial images to help the tool recognize a greater number of circumstances and thus become more accurate.
- GIS Lounge
- 2019
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- 5 min
- GIS Lounge
- 2019
When AI Goes Wrong in Spatial Reasoning
GIS, a relatively new form of computational analysis, can often contain algorithms with biases based on biases present in the training data from open data sources, with this case study focusing on the tendency of power-line identification data being centered around the Western world. This problem can be improved by approaching data collection with more intentionality, either broadening the pool of collected geographic data or inputting artificial images to help the tool recognize a greater number of circumstances and thus become more accurate.
What happens when the source of the data itself (the dataset) is biased? Can the ideas present in this article (namely the intentionally broadening of the training data pool and inclusion of composite data) find application beyond GIS?
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- 3 min
- Politico
- 2021
Live streaming technologies are challenging to moderate and might have a negative effect on society’s perception of violent events. They also raise the question of how such content can be deleted once it has been broadcasted and potentially copied multiple times by different recipients.
- Politico
- 2021
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- 3 min
- Politico
- 2021
Library of Congress bomb suspect livestreamed on Facebook for hours before being blocked
Live streaming technologies are challenging to moderate and might have a negative effect on society’s perception of violent events. They also raise the question of how such content can be deleted once it has been broadcasted and potentially copied multiple times by different recipients.
What are the ethical trade-offs of live-streaming through social media? Is it possible to remediate a socially undesirable broadcast? What actors are responsible for moderating live streaming on social media?
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- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
Downsizing, the procedure which shrinks people down to only a few inches, is invented to combat environmental harm by producing less waste.
- Kinolab
- 2017
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- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
Thought Experiment in Technological Environmentalism
Downsizing, the procedure which shrinks people down to only a few inches, is invented to combat environmental harm by producing less waste.
Should the technology to edit humans be created and used if it means saving the planet? How would consent factor into this? Are there any other workable technologies for aiding the environment through means such as ameliorating climate change? Should technological innovation be directed toward first identifying problems and then encompassing the most radical solution possible?
Downsizing: Opening Sequence-
- 3 min
- Kinolab
- 2009
In a distant future after the “Water War” in which much of the natural environment was destroyed and water has become scarce, Asha works as a curator at a museum which displays the former splendor of nature on Earth. She receives a mysterious soil sample which, after digital analysis using a object recognition to take data from the soil, surprisingly contains water.
- Kinolab
- 2009
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- 3 min
- Kinolab
- 2009
Digital Environment Analysis
In a distant future after the “Water War” in which much of the natural environment was destroyed and water has become scarce, Asha works as a curator at a museum which displays the former splendor of nature on Earth. She receives a mysterious soil sample which, after digital analysis using a object recognition to take data from the soil, surprisingly contains water.
How can technology be used to gather data on certain environments and aspects of an ecosystem to help them reach their full potential? How should this technology be made accessible to communities all across the world?
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- 5 min
- Vice
- 2020
Robot researches in Japan have recently begun to use robotic “monster wolves” to help control wildlife populations by keeping them out of human civilizations or agricultural areas. These robots are of interest to robot engineers who work in environmentalism because although the process of engineering a robot does not help the environment, the ultimate good accomplished by robots which help control wildlife populations may outweigh this cost.
- Vice
- 2020
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- 5 min
- Vice
- 2020
Robotic Beasts, Wildlife Control, and Environmental Impact
Robot researches in Japan have recently begun to use robotic “monster wolves” to help control wildlife populations by keeping them out of human civilizations or agricultural areas. These robots are of interest to robot engineers who work in environmentalism because although the process of engineering a robot does not help the environment, the ultimate good accomplished by robots which help control wildlife populations may outweigh this cost.
What are all the ways, aside from those mentioned in the article, in which robots and robotics could be utilised in environmentalist and conservationist causes? How could robots meant to tell wildlife where not to travel be misused?
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- 5 min
- ZDNet
- 2020
In recent municipal elections in Brazil, the software and hardware of a machine learning technology provided by Oracle failed to properly do its job in counting the votes. This ultimately led to a delay in the results, as the AI had not been properly calibrated beforehand.
- ZDNet
- 2020
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- 5 min
- ZDNet
- 2020
AI Failure in Elections
In recent municipal elections in Brazil, the software and hardware of a machine learning technology provided by Oracle failed to properly do its job in counting the votes. This ultimately led to a delay in the results, as the AI had not been properly calibrated beforehand.
Who had responsibility to fully test and calibrate this AI before it was used for an election? What sorts of more dire consequences could result from a failure of AI to properly count votes? What are the implications of an American tech monopoly providing this faulty technology to another country’s elections?