We need to be vigilant about how we design and train these machine-learning systems, or we will see ingrained forms of bias built into the artificial intelligence of the future.
Kate CrawfordRead
If you're not thinking about the way systemic bias can be propagated through the criminal justice system or predictive policing, then it's very likely that, if you're designing a system based on historical data, you're going to be perpetuating those biases.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote warns that without awareness of systemic biases in existing data, we risk continuing those biases in new systems.
Kate Crawford emphasizes the importance of understanding systemic bias, particularly in the context of the criminal justice system and predictive policing. She argues that if one does not actively consider how these biases are ingrained in historical data, any new systems designed around this data are likely to perpetuate those same inequities, leading to further injustice and discrimination.
Themes
Systemic BiasCriminal JusticePredictive PolicingHistorical DataInequality
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about social justice initiatives, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of addressing bias in technology.
More from Kate Crawford
All quotes →As we move into an era in which personal devices are seen as proxies for public needs, we run the risk that already-existing inequities will be further entrenched. Thus, with every big data set, we need to ask which people are excluded. Which places are less visible? What happens if you live in the shadow of big data sets?
Kate CrawfordRead
Only by developing a deeper understanding of AI systems as they act in the world can we ensure that this new infrastructure never turns toxic.
Kate CrawfordRead
It is a failure of imagination and methodology to claim that it is necessary to experiment on millions of people without their consent in order to produce good data science.
Kate CrawfordRead
The fear isn't that big data discriminates. We already know that it does. It's that you don't know if you've been discriminated against.
Kate CrawfordRead
If you have rooms that are very homogeneous, that have all had the same life experiences and educational backgrounds, and they're all relatively wealthy, their perspective on the world is going to mirror what they already know. That can be dangerous when we're making systems that will affect so many diverse populations.
Kate CrawfordRead
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