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- Nov 29, 2021
- 6 min
Book Review: Genius Makers: The Mavericks Who Brought AI to Google, Facebook and the World
What does it mean to be smart? This is the opening question posed in Cade Metz’s Genius Makers: The Mavericks Who Brought AI to Google, Facebook and the World. Genius Makers was a page turner, a fun romp through the life of the notable men (yes, it’s almost exclusively men) behind our current AI moment and our algorithmic future. Unlike other books about artificial intelligence that focus on the technological breakthroughs in the field, Metz takes a look at the people behind
- Sep 22, 2021
- 3 min
Robots, the cure for loneliness?
When I talk to people about AI, inevitably we land on the topic of killer robots. This image of The Terminator and other superintelligent technology that is “out to get us” is a staple in science fiction. Our relationship to robots in the west has a long history of dystopian imagery. The word robot itself was first introduced in the 1920s in a play by Czech writer Karl Čapek called R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). This was a time when the industrial revolution was causing
- Apr 7, 2021
- 3 min
Prediction is the problem, predictability is the solution?
Many of the thorny ethical issues surrounding AI arise when it is used to make predictions about people, particularly predictions that affect life chances. The over arching narrative surrounding the use of AI technology is that if we have lots of data and the ability to process it with machine learning, we can accurately drive predictions. We know that there are issues with inaccuracies for AI-enabled systems when it comes to ensuring that AI works for everyone. Yet, when it
- Feb 25, 2021
- 3 min
Search algorithms continue to oppress
In February 2019, I gathered in a jam packed hotel ballroom in downtown Edmonton to hear Dr. Safiya Noble talk about her book Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. This was early days for me in my study of AI ethics and learning about how discrimination can be baked into the technological tools we use. I was as shocked and disturbed as the hundreds of other people in the room as we listened to Dr. Noble's stories about conducting research on Google, u
- Feb 9, 2021
- 1 min
Hate Over Health: Understanding racial discrimination in the age of COVID-19
I had the great pleasure of sharing the virtual stage tonight with Dr. Cheryl Prescod, Executive Director of the Black Creek Community Centre and Dr. Notisha Massaquoi, Principle of Nyanda Consulting at MacEwan University's Interdisciplinary Dialogues talk. Below is my practice session to prepare for my talk on Health Data, Race, AI and ethics. By Katrina Ingram, CEO, Ethically Aligned AI
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- Feb 1, 2021
- 3 min
Requerimiento, viruses, vaccines and revolutions: Fresh takes on surveillance capitalism
I'm re-reading Shoshana Zuboff's The Age of Surveillance Capitalism - the first book selected by the Women in AI Ethics bookclub for 2021. It's been just over a year since I first read it and the content is hitting me in new ways. There is SO much to unpack and I'm only halfway through but I thought I'd share three things that are resonating with me. Are terms of service contracts a form of Requerimiento? In the 1500s, before invading and killing everyone in a community, Span
- Jan 4, 2021
- 3 min
AI4Society Dialogues: A new podcast
Reflecting back on 2020, one of the things that fuelled me is great conversations. This past fall, I was incredibly fortunate to speak with some of the world’s leading AI researchers as the host of a new podcast series called AI4Society Dialogues. Produced on behalf of AI4Society, a signature research area at the University of Alberta, and the Kule Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS), the podcast showcases a range of incredibly talented researchers and is informed by this que
- Dec 15, 2020
- 2 min
WAIE and the power of community
This is the time of year when I get reflective, taking stock of the last 12 months while looking ahead to the coming year. To say it's been a tough year is an understatement! Yet, there are have been bright spots. One group that's been a shining light for me in 2020 is the Women in AI Ethics (WAIE) community. I'm incredibly grateful to have found this amazing group of women. WAIE is a unique organization on a number of levels. There are many organizations aimed at supporting
- Nov 28, 2020
- 5 min
Book Review: Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control
How we currently build AI is fundamentally flawed. We need new principles and a new process to build intelligent machines that are able to be controlled by humans in the long run. That’s the premise that anchors Stuart Russell’s book, Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control. Russell is considered a pioneer in the AI research community. He’s a professor at UC Berkeley and co-author with Peter Norvigg of a hugely popular textbook, Artificial Intelli
- Oct 2, 2020
- 3 min
Cut and paste culture: The hidden cost of reusing data
Recently, I was on an email thread where a templated email was reused out of context leading to a slightly confusing and funny exchange about a non-existent maternity leave. Making things worse, I added to the thread by sending out a questionnaire where the first question was clearly out of context. Oops! I think we've all had this happen. The cut and paste function is an easy default and most of the time it saves us time. Yet, it also creates a dynamic for how we work. The t
- Sep 25, 2020
- 4 min
Ethics or regulation? We need both.
I had a chance to catch two amazing presentation in the past two days - cyber-security expert Bruce Schneier and distinguished computer scientist Moshe Vardi. Both talks argued a similar point, that in order for things to really change in the technology space, we need public policy or regulation. However, that doesn't mean there isn't a role for ethics. Collective action to drive change in technology Bruce Schneier recently spoke at the Canadian Internet Registration Authorit
- Sep 17, 2020
- 3 min
Entrepreneur Diary Series: Taking the leap
Entrepreneurship is something we romanticize but the reality is a lot of hard work and outcomes that are far from certain. I've had some great conversations on my podcast with entrepreneurs and what they love (and don't love) about their work. I've been involved as an early management team member or advisor with start-ups in the technology, media and cannabis space. I loved the energy of these companies but while I was in the vehicle and along for the trip, I was always ridin
- Sep 17, 2020
- 3 min
That's a wrap: Thanking my community and planning next steps
I'm thrilled to say - I am DONE! I handed in my final research paper this week and now I await graduation. I have been fortunate to have the support of an amazing community on my academic journey. I am tremendously grateful to the following people: First and foremost, my husband Ken, who has always been my biggest champion. Thank you for supporting me in every way. The MACT 2018 cohort – you guys are the best! Thanks for the solidarity in learning. The MACT team – Professors
- Sep 15, 2020
- 2 min
Conferences and pumpkin-spice lattes
It's definitely fall. The air is cooler, the leaves are turning shades of red, pumpkin-spice lattes are back and it's conference season. I've been working a number of upcoming presentations to share my work, or as they call it in academia, knowledge mobilization. First up is a presentation I did back in July for Dr. Marilene Oliver's Know Thyself as a Virtual Reality sessions. This was the first time I presented my research results, a month before handing in my final research
- Jun 23, 2020
- 3 min
It's Focus Group Time! Three Tools for Developing Ethical AI
My first job after finishing my undergrad in the mid 90's was Research Coordinator for Metroline Research. I helped manage the Vancouver focus group facility (which I see no longer exists). It was a fancy space, with one way mirrors, fully equipped hidden cameras and microphones to record the groups and a tricked out viewing room for the clients where the mini-bar was always fully stocked. Fast forward two decades and I'm about to conduct my first online focus group. I'm usin
- May 23, 2020
- 4 min
Research update: collecting data, prepping for a presentation and "COVID-izing" my work
Generally when things are quiet on the blog, it means I'm really busy with my research. That's certainly been the case this past month. I've been deep in data collection mode and having some really interesting conversations about ethics with AI researchers working in the healthcare space. I also have to transcribe those conversations in order to code and analyze the data. That's not so interesting and incredibly time consuming even with the assistance of transcription softwar
- Apr 17, 2020
- 5 min
“Glassholes” and toilet paper: Consumer attitudes about AI
Back in 2013, Google launched Google Glass. It was hailed at that time as a technology set to revolutionize how we interact with the world and usher in a state of ubiquitous computing. Google co-founder Sergey Brin describes the vision for Google Glass in this TED talk. Google Glass failed to find consumer acceptance. It actually created a backlash. The term “glasshole” came to define those who used the product and the Urban Dictionary equates the term to stalker or creeper.
- Feb 8, 2020
- 4 min
Data sovereignty, the intelligence problem & a Big Yellow Taxi: Day Two of AI, Ethics and Society
They paved paradise (and put up a parking lot) It was the combination of being in NYC and a references to asphalt that made me think about Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi during the conference closing key note by sociologist and Oxford Institute Senior Research Fellow Gina Neff. Professor Neff used the asphalt analogy to describe how our world is increasingly being paved by AI technology. While we may be talking about how to make better AI asphalt, we really haven't had an in
- Feb 7, 2020
- 4 min
Mend it or end it, who decides? Day One of the AI, Ethics and Society Conference
It's been a super full day exploring the landscape surrounding the many societal questions relating to artificial intelligence and ethics. Law Professor Frank Pasquale kicked off the morning keynote with some reflections on the ground we've covered so far in our approach to this topic. He talked about two waves of ethical assessment in AI - the first one focused on issues of bias, fairness, transparency and explainability. This approach is one of "mend it" - fix the technolog
- Feb 6, 2020
- 3 min
Computerize the race problem? Charlton McIlwain's opening keynote at AI, Ethics and Society
I'm in NYC for the AI, Ethics and Society conference. Tonight, our opening keynote speaker was Charlton McIlwain who recently published a new book - Black Software: The Internet and Racial Justice from the Afronet to Black Lives Matter. There are many reasons why Professor McIlwain wrote this book, as he outlines in this Slate article. In part, he was inspired by the story of Roy Wilkins, a civil rights activist, who wrote a particularly prescient opinion piece for the LA Tim
