The Future of Algorithms: Whose Bias Is It Anyway?

Algorithms are buzzing all around us, but exactly what and where are they – and how will they continue to impact each of us – for good or not so good? The Buzz 1: “Algorithm: Word used by programmers when they don’t want to explain what they did.” (Book title on amazon.com) The Buzz 2: “The algorithms that orchestrate our ads are starting to orchestrate our lives.” (Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org) The Buzz 3: An algorithm is a set of step-by-step procedures, or a set of rules to follow, for completing a specific task or solving a particular problem. The word ‘algorithm’ was first coined in the 9th century by a Persian mathematician whose latinized name was 'Algoritmi'. Today…algorithms determine the people we meet on Tinder, recognize your face to open the keyless door or fire you from your job when your productivity drops.” (towardsdatascience.com) The Buzz 4: “Human-sourced bias inevitably creeps into AI models, and as a result, algorithms reinforce human prejudices…Google Images search for 'CEO' produced 11 percent women, even though 27 percent of United States chief executives are women. We’ll ask Jim Sterne, Drew Ianni, Jason Shepherd and Eric Simone for their take on “The Future of Algorithms: Whose Bias Is It Anyway?” Thank you to today's sponsor: www.nordvpn.com/TechRev