{"id":159147,"date":"2021-06-23T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=159147"},"modified":"2021-06-23T06:03:15","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T11:03:15","slug":"ictp-160-understanding-how-bias-is-being-perpetuated-through-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2021\/06\/ictp-160-understanding-how-bias-is-being-perpetuated-through-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"ICTP 160:  Understanding how technology perpetuates bias, with Matthew Cowen, of dgtlfutures.com"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>If one delves beneath the surface of today\u2019s technologies, one is likely to find that much of the products, algorithms and developments that are being integrated into our lives have been built inherently with certain biases or prejudices. Founder of dgtlfutures, Matthew Cowen, discusses the role technology has been playing in perpetuating bias.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1074147523&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\" title=\"ICT Pulse Podcast\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICT Pulse Podcast<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\/ictp-160-understanding-how\" title=\"ICTP 160:  Understanding how technology perpetuates bias, with Matthew Cowen, of dgtlfutures.com\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICTP 160:  Understanding how technology perpetuates bias, with Matthew Cowen, of dgtlfutures.com<\/a><\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This episode is also available in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast\/id1373550291\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple iTunes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/playmusic.app.goo.gl\/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&amp;isi=691797987&amp;ius=googleplaymusic&amp;apn=com.google.android.music&amp;link=https:\/\/play.google.com\/music\/m\/Icau5acn2xiyl5yjuh7orl2mt54?t%3DICT_Pulse_Podcast%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google Play Music<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/3d0U4ZYX80e5lenYLdzyX4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spotify<\/a> and on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast?refid=stpr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stitcher<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks to the diverse mix of races and ethnicities in the Caribbean, to some degree, we may not be as aware of the biases and prejudices that tend to be more prevalent and overt in other parts of the world. Similarly, conflicts on matters related to gender or religion, for example, may not be as widely contentious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without a doubt, we do live in a world where bias and prejudice do exist; but it is easy to think that ICT, or tech, would be immune to those \u2018trivialities\u2019. We tend to think of technology as scientific and unbiased. However, increasingly, conversations are being held globally not only on how technology \u2013 from your digital camera and virtual assistants, to social media, artificial intelligence and face recognition programmes \u2013 are biased and continue to perpetuate bias, but also the measures can instituted to eliminate bias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In today\u2019s podcast episode, &nbsp;we will be talking about the role technology plays in perpetuating bias, such as in the form of racism, sexism, xenophobia and other prejudices. It is emphasised that the purpose of this discussion is not to bash technology per se \u2013 this is indeed ICT Pulse \u2013 but to begin to highlight what can be considered the seedy underbelly of technology and the implications to our societies, of which we ought to be more aware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introducing our guest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"148005\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2019\/05\/ictp-054-community-chat-ride-hailing-services-complement-public-transport-system-caribbean-social-impact\/matthew-cowan-m-cowan\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Matthew-Cowan-M-Cowan.jpeg?fit=427%2C384&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"427,384\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Matthew Cowen (M Cowen)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Matthew Cowen&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Matthew-Cowan-M-Cowan.jpeg?fit=300%2C270&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Matthew-Cowan-M-Cowan.jpeg?fit=427%2C384&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Matthew-Cowan-M-Cowan.jpeg?resize=350%2C315&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-148005\" width=\"350\" height=\"315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Matthew-Cowan-M-Cowan.jpeg?w=427&amp;ssl=1 427w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Matthew-Cowan-M-Cowan.jpeg?resize=300%2C270&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><figcaption>Matthew Cowen<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/matthewcowen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Matthew Cowen<\/a> <\/strong>is a repeat guest on the Podcast, and prior to this visit, he was part of the November 2020 Community chat, where we discussed, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/2020\/11\/ictp-133-confusing-smart-with-digital-and-the-challenges-of-achieving-innovative-disruption-in-business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Confusing smart with digital, and the challenges of achieving innovative disruption in business<\/a><\/em>.  Matthew is the Founder of dgtlfutures, a consulting firm that seeks to help small businesses across the Caribbean to develop and implement their digital transformation strategies. He is also the author of <em>The Future is Digital<\/em> newsletter, where he shares witty and insightful articles. More recently, he launched <em>The Future is Digital<\/em> podcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matthew is a Consultant with more than 30 years\u2019 experience in digital technologies and their use in business. His expertise includes market research and analysis, along with trends and opportunities for businesses in the digital space. He has been living in Martinique for over 15 years, and is fluent in both English and French.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Insights into our conversation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The impetus for this episode was a discussion Matthew and I were having on topical tech issues. Although the ways in which technology was fostering bias, especially racism, was a subject with which I had a general familiarity, I really had not given it as much thought as Matthew had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, upon closer reflection, I begun to realise how insidious bias might be. We tend to think of science and technology as fact \u2013 unbiased \u2013 and &nbsp;although techies and scientists might not be explicitly racist or biased (for example), the way experiments are formulated, or how products or algorithms are developed, to a considerable degree, is shaped by the attitudes and perspectives of the scientists and product developers. Hence, scientific experiments and the product development process may not be as inclusive as we might have thought, or would like, and so as Matthew and I discuss, one can end up with a seemingly racist soap dispenser!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of the questions posed during my conversation with Matthew include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>Matthew, let\u2019s start by setting a context, and identifying what might be some of your concerns.<\/li><li>What are some of the challenges or issues we, here in the Caribbean, ought to be mindful of, as it relates to technology and bias?<\/li><li>This sentence is from an October 2020 article in The Atlantic entitled, <em>How the Racism Baked Into Technology Hurts Teens<\/em>, \u201c<em>Algorithms powerfully shape development; they are socializing an entire generation<\/em>\u201d. Do you agree with the statement and how would you explain this?<\/li><li>What are your thoughts on social media, and the algorithms that drive them?<\/li><li>How might we, in the Caribbean, better manage, or try to address, some of these biases in the technology we use? Is there anything we can do?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>We would love to hear from you!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICTPulse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ict-pulse-consulting-limited\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>LinkedIn<\/strong><\/a> pages, or via Twitter, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ICTPulse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>@ICTPulse<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Select links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/matthewcowen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Matthew Cowen<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/newsletter.dgtlfutures.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dgtlfutures<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/newsletter.dgtlfutures.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Scientific method<\/a><\/li><li>IFLS article, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iflscience.com\/technology\/this-racist-soap-dispenser-reveals-why-diversity-in-tech-is-muchneeded\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>This Viral Video Of A Racist Soap Dispenser Reveals A Much, Much Bigger Problem<\/em><\/a><\/li><li>The Atlantic article, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/family\/archive\/2020\/10\/algorithmic-bias-especially-dangerous-teens\/616793\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>How the Racism Baked Into Technology Hurts Teens<\/em><\/a><\/li><li>Netflix documentary, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81328723\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Coded Bias<\/em><\/a><\/li><li>The Verge article, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2016\/3\/24\/11297050\/tay-microsoft-chatbot-racist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Twitter taught Microsoft\u2019s AI chatbot to be a racist asshole in less than a day<\/em><\/a><\/li><li>IEEE Spectrum article, <a href=\"https:\/\/spectrum.ieee.org\/tech-talk\/artificial-intelligence\/machine-learning\/in-2016-microsofts-racist-chatbot-revealed-the-dangers-of-online-conversation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>In 2016, Microsoft\u2019s Racist Chatbot Revealed the Dangers of Online Conversation<\/em><\/a><\/li><li>Twitter article, <a href=\"https:\/\/help.twitter.com\/en\/using-twitter\/twitter-lists\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>How to use Twitter Lists<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>&nbsp;<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/gdpr-info.eu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)<\/a> &nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>image credits:  M Cowen;  Epic Images&nbsp;(<a href=\"http:\/\/pixabay.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pixabay<\/a>);  Gerd Altmann (<a href=\"http:\/\/pixabay.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pixabay<\/a>);  <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Multiculturalism.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Music credit: Ray Holman<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If one delves beneath the surface of today\u2019s technologies, one is likely to find that much of the products, algorithms and developments that are being integrated into our lives have been built inherently with certain biases or prejudices. Founder of dgtlfutures, Matthew Cowen, discusses the role technology has been playing in perpetuating bias.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[355],"tags":[259,475,281,357,42,15],"class_list":["post-159147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-artificial-intelligence-ai","tag-bias-prejudice","tag-internet","tag-interviews","tag-social-media","tag-trends","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Featured-Image-Technology-and-bias-episode.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-FoT","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159147"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159169,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159147\/revisions\/159169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}