Themes (353)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
FILTERreset filters-
- 51 min
- TechCrunch
- 2020
In this podcast, several disability experts discuss the evolving relationship between disabled people, society, and technology. The main point of discussion is the difference between the medical and societal models of disability, and how the medical lens tends to spur technologies with an individual focus on remedying disability, whereas the societal lens could spur technologies that lead to a more accessible world. Artificial Intelligence and machine learning is labelled as inherently “normative” since it is trained on data that comes from a biased society, and therefore is less likely to work in favor of a social group as varied as disabled people. There is a clear need for institutional change in the technology industry to address these problems.
- TechCrunch
- 2020
-
- 51 min
- TechCrunch
- 2020
Artificial Intelligence and Disability
In this podcast, several disability experts discuss the evolving relationship between disabled people, society, and technology. The main point of discussion is the difference between the medical and societal models of disability, and how the medical lens tends to spur technologies with an individual focus on remedying disability, whereas the societal lens could spur technologies that lead to a more accessible world. Artificial Intelligence and machine learning is labelled as inherently “normative” since it is trained on data that comes from a biased society, and therefore is less likely to work in favor of a social group as varied as disabled people. There is a clear need for institutional change in the technology industry to address these problems.
What are some problems with injecting even the most unbiased of technologies into a system biased against certain groups, including disabled people? How can developers aim to create technology which can actually put accessibility before profit? How can it be ensured that AI algorithms take into account more than just normative considerations? How can developers be forced to consider the myriad impacts that one technology may have on large heterogeneous communities such as the disabled community?
Mixtape: S3E5-
- 5 min
- Tech Crunch
- 2020
During Google’s attempt to merge with the company Fitbit, the NGO Amnesty International has provided warnings to the competition regulators in the EU that such a move would be detrimental to privacy. Based on Google’s historical malpractice with user data, since its status as a tech monopoly allows it to mine data from several different avenues of a user’s life, adding wearable health-based tech to this equation puts the privacy and rights of users at risk. Calls for scrunity of “surveillance capitalism” employed by tech giants.
- Tech Crunch
- 2020
-
- 5 min
- Tech Crunch
- 2020
No Google-Fitbit merger without human rights remedies, says Amnesty to EU
During Google’s attempt to merge with the company Fitbit, the NGO Amnesty International has provided warnings to the competition regulators in the EU that such a move would be detrimental to privacy. Based on Google’s historical malpractice with user data, since its status as a tech monopoly allows it to mine data from several different avenues of a user’s life, adding wearable health-based tech to this equation puts the privacy and rights of users at risk. Calls for scrunity of “surveillance capitalism” employed by tech giants.
When considering how companies and advertisers may use them, what sorts of personal statistics related to health and well-being should and should not be collected by mobile computing devices? How can devices originally built to stand on their own as one technological artifact become more convenient or harmful to a user when they become part of a technological architecture?
-
- 5 min
- Wired
- 2020
As means of preserving deceased loved ones digitally become more and more likely, it is critical to consider the implications of technologies which aim to replicate and capture the personality and traits of those who have passed. Not only might this change the natural process of grieving and healing, it may also have alarming consequences for the agency of the dead. For the corresponding Black Mirror episode discussed in the article, see the narratives “Martha and Ash Parts I and II.”
- Wired
- 2020
-
- 5 min
- Wired
- 2020
The Ethics of Rebooting the Dead
As means of preserving deceased loved ones digitally become more and more likely, it is critical to consider the implications of technologies which aim to replicate and capture the personality and traits of those who have passed. Not only might this change the natural process of grieving and healing, it may also have alarming consequences for the agency of the dead. For the corresponding Black Mirror episode discussed in the article, see the narratives “Martha and Ash Parts I and II.”
Should anyone be allowed to use digital resurrection technologies if they feel it may better help them cope? With all the data points that exist for internet users in this day and age, is it easier to create versions of deceased people which are uncannily similar to their real identities? What would be missing from this abstraction? How is a person’s identity kept uniform or recognizable if they are digitally resurrected?
-
- 3 min
- Tech Crunch
- 2020
This narrative explains that the push for technology to help with accessibility for disabled groups, especially blind or visually impaired individuals, has spurred scientific innovation which is to the benefit of everyone.
- Tech Crunch
- 2020
-
- 3 min
- Tech Crunch
- 2020
What will tomorrow’s tech look like? Ask someone who can’t see.
This narrative explains that the push for technology to help with accessibility for disabled groups, especially blind or visually impaired individuals, has spurred scientific innovation which is to the benefit of everyone.
What are the benefits of developing technologies and innovations which aim to solve a specific problem? How might this lead to unprecedented positive innovations? How can accessibility become a priority, and become adequately incentivized, in tech development, instead of other priorities such as profit?
-
- 5 min
- Gizmodo
- 2020
This article describes the new Amazon Sidewalk feature and subsequently explains why users should not buy into this service. Essentially, this feature uses the internet of things created by Amazon devices such as the Echo or Ring camera to create a secondary network connecting nearby homes which also contain these devices, which is sustained by each home “donating” a small amount of broadband. It is explained that this is a dangerous concept because this smaller network may be susceptible to hackers, putting a large number of users at risk.
- Gizmodo
- 2020
-
- 5 min
- Gizmodo
- 2020
You Need to Opt Out of Amazon Sidewalk
This article describes the new Amazon Sidewalk feature and subsequently explains why users should not buy into this service. Essentially, this feature uses the internet of things created by Amazon devices such as the Echo or Ring camera to create a secondary network connecting nearby homes which also contain these devices, which is sustained by each home “donating” a small amount of broadband. It is explained that this is a dangerous concept because this smaller network may be susceptible to hackers, putting a large number of users at risk.
Why are “secondary networks” like the one described here a bad idea in terms of both surveillance and data privacy? Is it possible for the world to be too networked? How can tech developers make sure the general public has a healthy skepticism toward new devices? Or is it ultimately Amazon’s job to think about the ethical implications of this secondary network before introducing it for profits?
-
- 7 min
- Wired
- 2020
As different levels of the U.S government have introduced and passed bills regulating or banning the use of facial recognition technologies, tech monopolies such as Amazon and IBM have become important lobbying agents in these conversations. It seems that most larger groups are on different pages in terms of how exactly face recognition algorithms should be limited or used, especially given their negative impacts on privacy when used for surveillance.
- Wired
- 2020
-
- 7 min
- Wired
- 2020
Congress Is Eyeing Face Recognition, and Companies Want a Say
As different levels of the U.S government have introduced and passed bills regulating or banning the use of facial recognition technologies, tech monopolies such as Amazon and IBM have become important lobbying agents in these conversations. It seems that most larger groups are on different pages in terms of how exactly face recognition algorithms should be limited or used, especially given their negative impacts on privacy when used for surveillance.
Can and should the private sector be regulated in its use of facial recognition technologies? How is it that tech monopolies might hold so much sway with government officials, and how can this be addressed? Do the benefits of facial recognition, such as convenience at the airport, listed at the end of the article make enough of a case against a complete ban of the technology, or do the bad applications ultimately outweigh the good ones? What would the ideal bill look like in terms of limiting or banning facial recognition?