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

In 2010, Mark Zuckerberg famously said “the age of privacy is over”. (Kirkpatrick, 2010) He’s walked back that statement in the ensuing years. However, there is a sense that with the proliferation of social media and the extent to which we are sharing information online, that we’ve evolved into a society that doesn’t value privacy as much as past generations. At the same time, we also proclaim that privacy is important and should be protected. Regulators are looking towards p

Imagine these two scenarios...you're at work and you've just polished off a latte. You throw the cup in the lunchroom garbage but unbeknownst to you, a co-worker takes the cup. It contains particles of your DNA where you lips have touched the lid. That discarded tissue is then cloned. In the second scenario, you go to the doctor to receive treatment for a tumor. The doctor needs a biopsy, which you assume will be used to diagnose your condition. However, this tissue sample is

Recently, my city passed a bylaw that makes mask wearing mandatory in all indoor spaces. I'm in Canada where "to mask or not to mask" isn't viewed with quite as much political polarity as our neighbours to the south. Yet, there are still those who don't feel they should be mandated to wear a mask, even if there is evidence that it can be beneficial at a collective level. I recognize that certain people (for medical and other reasons) may not be able to wear a mask. The city h

I submitted my draft Findings and Discussions chapter this weekend! I’m now on a rare break from my research project as I await some supervisory feedback. In the meantime, I have LOTS to do. I’ve been working as part of a CIFAR funded research team looking at the impact of COVID-19 in Alberta. That’s a glamourous way of putting it. The reality is I’m gathering secondary data sources that will be used for analysis, monitoring the weekly events surrounding COVID-19 from an Albe

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

There’s something about seeing the hard, cold numbers globally tracking the coronavirus that’s turned average people into armchair epidemiologists. We’re having conversations (virtually, of course) about how successfully we’re “flattening the curve”and whether we’re doing better or worse than other places. With sports on hiatus, this has become a new kind of game. Yet, there are the vast differences between countries, as well as provinces, states or regions, in how data is ga

My research focus is on AI researchers and how they are navigating ethical considerations in their work. I’m exploring issues around data, data storage, privacy – all of which is also relevant for my own research. I originally planned to conduct one-on-one in person interviews which are the gold standard for qualitative research. When COVID-19 physical distancing requirements made this impossible, I had to revise my approach and move everything online. The big question I’m wr