Due on Tue, 02/09 @ 11:59PM.

We know that all people have biases – whether conscious or unconscious – and that these biases can have serious consequences for people’s lives (e.g. being offered/denied an opportunity, being unfairly targeted, etc.).

Adding to the pile of evidence: this study (2019) has been circulating on the Internet recently – which found that school guidance counselors systematically under-refer high school students who are black and female to A.P. Calculus.

Many new technologies have emerged that claim to mitigate human bias. However, Benjamin shows us (on pp. 140-143 and elsewhere) how these supposedly more objective technologies can and do still discriminate (and sometimes make things worse).

This raises the question: don’t algorithms and computer-mediated systems also have the potential to lead to more just and fair decisions? Can’t computers help us formalize better rules and procedures to help us act in ways that promote important social values?

What do you think? Can technology help us be less biased and more fair?

• If yes, how? And what do you think is getting in the way?
• If no, explain why this is the wrong way of thinking about the role of technology and society?

…and if you have time (optional), what do you think Ruha Benjamin would say to the “we can make the algorithms more fair” assertion?

When you’re done, paste your response from the Google Doc into the Canvas Assignment.