AI seems to be everywhere - whether it’s an AI chatbot like ChatGPT, or the way TikTok uses AI to keep you scrolling - it’s a hot topic that seems to be growing even more every day. As people in caring community, we need to work to learn about how these technologies could be affecting us and others. This activity will prompt you to think about the bigger effects of AI. What is AI? A basic definition by Coursera outlines artificial intelligence as “the theory and development of computer systems capable of performing tasks that historically required human intelligence, such as recognizing speech, making decisions, and identifying patterns. AI is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide variety of technologies, including machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing.” (source: Coursera).
Like a hammer can both make repairs or harm someone, AI is also a tool
that can be helpful or harmful. Scholar Ruha Benjamin thinks about how
flawed data can cause even more harm when used with AI:
"These systems [rely] on historic data, historic forms of
decision-making practices that then get fed into the algorithms to
train them how to make decisions. And so if we acknowledge that part
of that historic data and those patterns of decision-making have been
discriminatory, it means that both the data and oftentimes the models,
which are built to make important, sometimes life-and-death decisions
for people, are being reproduced under the guise of objectivity."
"The main danger of it, perhaps more dangerous than human bias, is
that we assume that the technology is neutral and objective. So we
don't question it as much -- not as much as we would [with] a racist
judge, or doctor, or police. We think, 'Oh, it's coming to us through
a computer screen. Okay. I give these resources to this person and not
this person.' And [we] don't question where that decision came from."
(from an interview with Ruha Benjamin on
The Data Chief podcast)
For each card, think about the ethics that apply to each scenario. Then, hover over the card to flip and discuss the guided questions.