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There's a fundamentally wrong view of the way algorithms are written implicit here. Take for example a recommendation algorithm for porn. It's not written by so
by freech 9y ago
There's a fundamentally wrong view of the way algorithms are written implicit here. Take for example a recommendation algorithm for porn. It's not written by some programmer expressing his tastes in code, like he would in language, it's written by analyzing the tastes of lots of people. If the result is racist - maybe people prefer black men and asian women - then it's because people's tastes are racist, not because the programmer is racist.
- setr 9y agoi think the response would be that allowing racist tastes to persist in the successful model is itself an opinion embedded in your algorithm. Its not that algorithm is an opinion, but that the goal achieved by it is defined with opinions (and thus, a successful algorithm is targetting those opinions)
- OtterCoder 9y agoExactly. Adding no personal opinions to the algorithm is an implicit opinion that the status quo is fine, as she addresses in the talk.