122. We Are The Algorithm

In Episode 122, Quinn has big questions about AI ethics and, like many other situations, is left wondering: was Dr. Ian Malcolm right all along?

Our guest is Dr. Rumman Chowdury. She is the director of the Machine Ethics Transparency & Accountability (META) team at Twitter, where she’s helping to build a new ethical backbone into Twitter from the inside out.

On every social media platform you interact with on a regular basis, there is some type of machine learning or algorithm determining what you see and how you interact with it. Obviously, that is quite a responsibility to bear. We’ve seen algorithms in the past be straight-up racist, suck people into alt-right conspiracy funnels, and cater to the worst of our human tendencies.

These are all running on systems designed by humans – mostly white men – and that shows in the ways that they work. It’s Dr. Rumman’s job to clamp down on the worst of these to make algorithms that perform ethically – and she’s certainly got her work cut out for her.

Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.com

Important, Not Important Book Club:

• Against Purity by Alexis Shotwell

• https://bookshop.org/shop/importantnotimportant

Links:

• rummanchowdhury.com

• Twitter: @ruchowdh

• parity-fund.com

• startupsandsociety.medium.com

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• Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

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