The Way we use Technology Amplifies Injustice & Inequality

With the advancement of automated technology we are relying on computer programs to act as moral and ethical agents on behalf of humans. Algorithms determine where you can live and work, they decide if you are good or bad at your job and they are even used to determine whether you could be a potential criminal or not.

Algorithms and programs have been given an immense amount of power and trust in our world — but are they worthy of it? Are algorithms really blind to the prejudices and biases of the world? Can they be trusted to make infallible decisions that can make or break someone’s life?

Can Technology Really Be Biased?

Computer programs are after all just crunching numbers and cannot be influenced and corrupted as people can be. However, because of the immense amount of trust placed in algorithms they become all the more dangerous when they are wrong. Algorithms can and do display bias. They are not perfect and treating them as if they are has dangerous consequences that effect many people’s lives.

While I understood that bias could fester in computer programs I never really understood how harsh the effects of bias could be. I personally thought that the worst that could happen is that sometimes Siri won’t understand what I’m saying sometimes…