[dba-Tech] the ethical algorithm

[Arthur Fuller]

I'll make this the next thing to purchase, but I'm just now about 100 pages
into Le Carre, so this will have to wait a few days. Le Carre is such a
great writer that I am compelled to re-read paragraph after paragraph.
Although they have nothing else in common, it recalls memories of Gore
Vidal, who had an incomparable ability to save the point of a paragraph
until its final word. Le Carre has this ability, and also the ability to
skewer his opponents in a single sentence. I stand in awe of his skill.

On Thu, Jan 2, 2020 at 5:51 PM Peter Brawley <peter.brawley at earthlink.net>
wrote:

> Haven't yet finished "The Ethical Algorithm: The Science of Socially
> Aware Algorithm Design" by Michael Kearns & Aaron Roth, but I can say
> it's terrific and oh so relevant.
>
> Wait, how can an algorithm be (un)ethical? Isn't it just a tool, like a
> hammer? Not quite. An algorithm makes decisions based on the model it's
> using and the data it finds. Such decisions are unpredictable, can
> implement intended or unintended biases, and can have serious personal &
> social consequences.
>
> Early in the book they describe a 1990s incident that highlighted
> cyberprivacy concerns. Massachusetts released historical medical data on
> state employees for medical research purposes. A good progressive move,
> right? Individual privacy was protected by removal of individual
> identifiers like name, address, social security number. A young graduate
> student said wait a minute, if I cross-reference this data with drivers'
> licences & voter lists, I can match the anonymised medical data with
> names ages & addresses. To make the point she sent the governor of
> Massachusetts his medical history.
>
> Kearns & Roth address algorithmic privacy, fairness, interpretability,
> morality, and the possibility of an ultraintelligent machine (an AI
> "singularity"). Privacy is the most mature (or if you prefer, the least
> immature) domain, but they're all fascinating & worrying. Recommended.
>
> PB
>
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-- 
Arthur