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Blog Post Week 4: Due 9/19

How do algorithms perpetuate existing biases in society?

Algorithms perpetuate existing biases in society due to a system that his made with biases from humans. Biases within the algorithm is a deep-rooted issue of discrimination towards gender, race, sexuality, and class. This can also cause stereotypes within minorities. For example, an algorithm is made when people are applying for jobs. People with white-sounding names receive 50 percent more callbacks from employers rather than black-sounding names. Some computer scientists from Princeton examine a popopular algorithm, trained on human writing online, to see if it would exhibit the same biased tendencies that psychologists have documented among humans. The results came back that algorithms associated with white-sounding names were more pleasant words rather than black-sounding names. 

How does the "new Jim Code" create racial biases in technology, especially regarding names? What are the wider effects of these biases on society?

The new Jim Code creates this new version of discrimination systems within technology. These modern technologies and systems unintentionally and intentionally reinforce racial discrimination, which highlights how algorithms and data can cause biases against marginalized groups. This can impact law enforcement systems. For example, in a recent audit of the California gang database not only did blacks and Latinxs constitute 87 percent of those listed but many of the names turned out to be babies under the age of one, some who were supposedly “self-described gang members”. This database associates names with gang member names that are in the system causing a false algorithm that discriminates against people of color. 

How does intersectionality shape how people experience discrimination?

Intersectionality has a major impact on people's experience with discrimination creating multiple forms of inequality or disadvantage that sometimes compound themselves and they create obstacles that often are not understood within conventional ways of thinking about anti-racism or feminism or whatever social justice advocacy structures we have.  Not understanding certain problems when it comes to social justice issues is not understanding intersectionality. Mainly people fail to understand the overlapping of discrimination when it comes to race, sex, and sexuality. For example, Crenshaw states that African American girls are 6 times more likely to get suspended than white girls. The intersectionality in this is that race and gender are overlapping each other. This type of discrimination creates a lack of visibility and support for marginalized groups. 

Does intersectionality impact experiences of discrimination in a work environment?

People face intersectionality in work environments due to discrimination being shown within race, gender, and class. More especially women of color face an overlap of discrimination due to being black and women already having a disadvantage in society. For example, Emma D faced gender-race discrimination, this is double discrimination. She claims her work environment does not acknowledge double discrimination due to not understanding the intersectional approach and how it impacts policies and discrimination.

Benjamin, R. (2019). Race After Technology.

Crenshaw, K. (2016). The urgency of intersectionality | Kimberlé Crenshaw | TED. Youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akOe5-UsQ2o&t=3s

[jorgielua101]

BLOG 3 9/12

How does cyberfeminism address the needs and perspective of women of color?

Cyberfeminism addresses the needs and perspectives of women of color by allowing women to have a platform to spread the message without being harassed or silenced. This ingenious use of technology is a new expression of feminist practice called cyberfeminism(Daniels, 2004). An example where technologies brought awareness to race, gender, and embodiment in the digital era is when a website was created called HollabackNYC. This website was created to expose men harassing women and encourages women to catch harassers by snapping a photo of the act and posting it on the website to bring awareness. This form of cyberfeminism can start a movement towards gender equality. By promoting diverse voices in tech and digital media. Which challenges marginalization and stereotypes. Cyberbullying helps people from all movements come together to address both social economic and cultural to help spread amounts different feminist groups that address certain issues women of color face. In the text, it states that Saskia Sassen’s work addresses the embeddedness of the digital world and talks about the ways that digital technologies “enable women to engage in new forms of contestation and proactive endeavors in multiple different realms, from political to economic” (Daniels, 2009) Cyberfeminism is a movement that will continue to skyrocket.

How does data driven algorithm impact healthcare inequality?

Data-driven algorithms impact healthcare inequality because people of color do not have the same access to higher treatment of healthcare than people who are white and wealthy. People of color have fewer doctor visitations, rather than white people. In the video Race and Technology Professor Nicole Brown states that white people spend about 1800 dollars more on healthcare. This group of people will have a major impact on Healthcare systems deploying algorithms for efficient data-driven decision-making when it comes to making healthcare analysis. This leaves people of color out of the data. People of color already don't get treated equally the same as white people, especially black women. The data is driven is made to prevent people of color from having equal treatment and not taken seriously. The algorithm consistently deemed white people to be more ill and therefore recommended more healthcare.

Does algorithms on social media perpetuates anti-black racism? 

Yes, algorithms on social media perpetuate anti-black racism by programmers inputting their own bias when these algorithms are being created. These biases can be discriminatory towards the black community and people of color. A study in 2020, in "Data&Scoiety" explored how algorithmic biases reinforce racial stereotypes and inequalities (Chung, 2009). An example can be when people who have a darker complexion have trouble using facial recognition systems. This software shows underlying biases in the data and algorithm that is being designed.

How does the use of facial recognition technology affect public government institutions amount racial and ethnic minorities?

Facial recognition technology can be something cool to access and easier to use within iPhones or any unlocking technology that uses facial recognition. Although facial recognition can be beneficial it is very harmful for people of color. For example, some innocent men were falsely accused of a crime due to the cops using facial recognition software that was not 100% developed. A detective in the Woodbridge Police Department sent the photo from the fake driver’s license to state agencies that had access to face recognition technology, according to a police report (Hill, 2020). It turns out that he was the third person known to be falsely arrested based on bad facial recognition. This form of investigating is targeting the black community specifically. It brings social inequality to society by accusing these innocent people of a crime. Some evidence is that in 2019, a national study of over 100 facial recognition algorithms found that they did not work as well on Black and Asian faces. This on going problem, another example of technology discriminating against people of color is when two other Black men — Robert Williams and Michael Oliver, who both live in the Detroit area were also arrested for crimes they did not commit based on bad facial recognition matches (Hill, 2020). All these examples show how facial recognition affects public institutions like police departments when looking for evidence. Having these resources that are not accurate can not only damage someone's life but also put a certain group of people in a box of criminals when they are truly not. 

Racism in, racism out. Public Citizen. (2022, January 3). https://www.citizen.org/article/algorithmic-racism/

Daniels, Jessie. 2009. Rethinking Cyberfeminism(s): Race, Gender, and Embodiment. The Feminist Press

Brown, N. (n.d.). Race and Technology. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8uiAjigKy8&ab_channel=NicoleBrown

Hill, K. (2020, December 29). Another arrest, and jail time, due to a bad facial recognition match. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/29/technology/facial-recognition-misidentify-jail.html

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How can critical theory inform our understanding of power, the way power is exercised and challenged within social media platforms?

Critical theory can inform our understanding of power because it explores in depth that it is possible for humans to live in a world where domination and exploitation isn't preventing people from being able to be successful in society. When identifying the political world views shape peoples thoughts and theories  For example philosopher Marx therefore identifies the “task of philosophy to unmask human self-alienation” (Marx 1997, 251). In deconstructing alienation, domination and exploitation, critical theory also makes demands for a self-determined, participatory and just democracy. Although critical theory can help demolish domination and exploitation in society. Social media plays a big part of pushing power to the wrong people. For example is that Facebook Inc. is a company controlled by private shareholders who own the Facebook platform. Facebook’s users create data whenever they are online that refers to their profiles and online behavior . This data is sold to Facebook’s advertising clients who are enabled to present targeted advertisements on users’ profiles. Without Facebook users, there would be no profit. So, one can say that users create the monetary value and profit of Facebook. But they do not own this profit, which is rather controlled by Facebook’s shareholders. So, also, Facebook users are getting exploited (Fuchs 2014). The people making this app are manipulating users by taking advantage of their power to become more rich. 

Can social media help spread the ideas of critical theory of democracy globally?

Social media can be an amazing platform to help bring awareness to certain social movements in the world. In 2011, was the year of various occupy movements emerged in North America, France, Spain, and other countries. They were asked about the Occupy use of social media and survey came back that they allow them to reach a broad public and to protect themselves from the police. Even people against this movement stated that as much as they wanted to the occupy to stay away from the media it reached a lot of people on facebook. This advantage can bring awareness within social inequality. Although social media can have some identified risk. Respondent states that facebook is exploitative and controls the output of facebook post, the frequency they are seen by other people claiming it is bad for society (Fuchs 2017). Although, this can be true, you cant stop people from controlling society because the rich and the political parties control how society is all about power. 

Fuchs, Christian. 2014. Social Media: A Critical Introduction. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

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[jorgielua101]

8/30 by 8pm

A time when technology did not live up to its promises was when the iPhone IOS update happened with the feature of unsending messages and editing messages. The unsending messages feature only works for a couple of seconds and with editing messages, the same as well. This feature was falsely promised to people. When this feature came out apple did not clarify how long this feature would last as well as not letting people use this feature due to not having the updated IOS feature. I am a person who uses this feature heavily because I am very active within group chats, so at times I do send a text message to the wrong chat. Not being able to unsend after a minute is pretty disappointing. What I do like is that I can edit the text event after a couple of seconds are done to unsend. Still being able to edit has a time limit. There was this one time, I updated my phone, with the new unsending feature, and I was texting two group chats at the time.

One being my work and one being with my friends. I sent a message talking about how my boss scheduled me and I was mad about it. I accidentally sent it to my work group chat instead of my friend group chat. Then, I remembered.  I could unsend it and when I did. It only worked for a few people but all my coworkers were screenshotting and sending it to me because some people did not have the updated feature. I was so embarrassed. Now, when it comes to any IOS update, my expectations are very low. When I was younger and the new iPhones would come out or new features it used to get me excited. Now I just feel like every update is a false advertisement and not worth the excitement.