As billions of people flow into the field of robotics, AI and sci-fi-esque technology continuously gain more popularity and fame. Without a doubt, it is the absolute ruler dominating both the business and scientific worlds. However, after a group of experimental robots became racist and sexist, many are led to question whether these artificial creatures truly have positive impacts on society.
In a recent experiment, scientists programmed robots with a popular artificial intelligence algorithm that can scan and sort through billions of images per second to identify the “criminal” within a selection of faces. The robots chose a picture of a Black man’s face almost every time. And, when asked, the AI-trained robots also automatically associated words such as “homemaker” and “janitor” with women and people of color.
Yet, according to the scientists involved in the experiment, these robots were not supposed to respond to these questions in actuality because they were not given the information required to make such judgments.
These studies that were made by renowned institutions like Johns Hopkins and the Georgia Institute of Technology expose the truth behind “racist and sexist biases baked into artificial intelligence systems” which are translated into “robots that use them to guide their operations”.
This glaring fault in the new facial recognition technology may be “the first empirical evidence that robots can be sexist and racist,” researchers from the famous scientific institutes say.
Companies and stockbrokers have already invested billions of dollars into robots as a replacement for humans in mundane tasks such as stacking shelves and delivering goods. However, as the AI “gold rush” becomes more and more intense, some people believe that it is also too careless. As scientists compete to make their robots more and more advanced, unexpected consequences that are just as big loom in the distance, such as the exhibited racist and sexist behavior.
Zac Stewarts, a professor from Colorado State University, stated, “With coding, a lot of times you just build the new software on top of the old software. So, when you get to the point where robots are doing more…and they’re built on top of flawed roots, you could certainly see us running into problems.
Link:
Robots-trained-on-AI-exhibited-racist-and-sexist-behavior-The-Washington-Post
Download
In a recent experiment, scientists programmed robots with a popular artificial intelligence algorithm that can scan and sort through billions of images per second to identify the “criminal” within a selection of faces. The robots chose a picture of a Black man’s face almost every time. And, when asked, the AI-trained robots also automatically associated words such as “homemaker” and “janitor” with women and people of color.
Yet, according to the scientists involved in the experiment, these robots were not supposed to respond to these questions in actuality because they were not given the information required to make such judgments.
These studies that were made by renowned institutions like Johns Hopkins and the Georgia Institute of Technology expose the truth behind “racist and sexist biases baked into artificial intelligence systems” which are translated into “robots that use them to guide their operations”.
This glaring fault in the new facial recognition technology may be “the first empirical evidence that robots can be sexist and racist,” researchers from the famous scientific institutes say.
Companies and stockbrokers have already invested billions of dollars into robots as a replacement for humans in mundane tasks such as stacking shelves and delivering goods. However, as the AI “gold rush” becomes more and more intense, some people believe that it is also too careless. As scientists compete to make their robots more and more advanced, unexpected consequences that are just as big loom in the distance, such as the exhibited racist and sexist behavior.
Zac Stewarts, a professor from Colorado State University, stated, “With coding, a lot of times you just build the new software on top of the old software. So, when you get to the point where robots are doing more…and they’re built on top of flawed roots, you could certainly see us running into problems.
Link:
Robots-trained-on-AI-exhibited-racist-and-sexist-behavior-The-Washington-Post
Download
