#bias and discrimination

[pddparthi]

The Ethical Considerations of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

The rapid advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have brought forth a multitude of ethical considerations of robotics that need to be carefully examined. As robots and AI systems become more integrated into our daily lives, it is essential to reflect upon the potential impact they can have on society, individuals, and the ethical values we hold. In this article, we…

[mtbcleadgenbuzz]

Transform Your Marketing Strategy With AI-Generated Blogs, Podcasts, And Videos: Watch Your Sales Skyrocket!

Transform Your Marketing Strategy With AI-Generated Blogs, Podcasts, And Videos: Watch Your Sales Skyrocket! Are you tired of spending countless hours creating content for your marketing strategy? Do you want to watch your sales skyrocket without sacrificing all of your free time? Look no further than AI-generated blogs, podcasts, and videos. With the advancements in artificial intelligence…

[alwaysbewoke]

[pinkcarsupremacy]

Thinking about how after this everyone will still act like Ocon is a driver who can't stay on track lmao

[desoax]

Bayer's Essure was a metal and polyester coiled device that was put into women's fallopian tubes to block the pathway between sperm and egg. After it was approved for sale in the United States, women began to complain that it caused allergic reactions and chronic pelvic pain and led to hysterectomy. In some cases it was lethal. Although eventually the FDA required a black box warning on the packaging, a Freedom of Information inquiry revealed that the company had 32,000 complaints about the device that had not been sent on to the FDA. Eventually, more than 39,000 women sued Bayer or hired lawyers over their use of Essure. In 2020, with no admission of wrongdoing, the company settled claims against it for $1.6 billion. In other instances, the authors pointed out, adverse event reports were made to the FDA but not shared with the public. Silicone breast implants were not allowed from 1992 to 2006, and when newer materials became available for implants, the public and doctors assumed they were not risky–even though there were no long-term studies of the effects of those materials when implanted in the breasts. However, as concerns grew, "safety advocates began meeting with the FDA in 2015. In 2018, the agency revealed that the adverse event reports existed but were not made public, despite the mandatory reporting requirement. During a public meeting in 2019, the FDA acknowledged that the agency had received over 300,000 breast implant adverse event reports–20 times more than they had previously admitted publicly. After this meeting, then-FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb promised release of all AE reports collected through 'alternative summary reporting,' most of which were released in June 2019."

Sex Cells: the Fight to Overcome Bias and Discrimination in Women's Healthcare, by Phyllis E. Greenberger, MSW

[searchforananswer]

Absolutely Sickened. (Cw: transphobia)

Wow. Just wow.

So not only did my brother's disappearance barely merit one column in the back of our local newspaper, not only is this the first time our paper has mentioned it SINCE IT HAPPENED, but now they're referring to him in QUOTATION MARKS? They want to call him a poor misguided autistic girl so badly I can TASTE IT. Absolutely REPREHENSIBLE BEHAVIOR. And, sexual incongruence disorder? Are we fucking making words up now? I have never, ever, in my life, heard anyone refer to being trans as having "sexual incongruence disorder." What the fuck? Also, can we talk about the bit where they say that HRT makes you unstable, cause I have never fucking heard that in my life. I can tell you firsthand that Ryan was 1000% more moody and unstable BEFORE he started testosterone. Since then, he's been super chill. So this is blatantly wrong.

What's the penalty for committing an act of terror on a local government building? I have a few people at the Health Department who need to be introduced to my good friend Mr. Heat-Seeking Missile. REPEATEDLY.

-Rachel

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The commander of the RCMP in Nova Scotia delivered what he described as a long-overdue apology to the province’s Black residents on Saturday, acknowledging that the force’s past use of street checks did lasting harm to both individuals and communities. Assistant commissioner Dennis Daley issued the apology to African Nova Scotians and all people of African descent during a Saturday afternoon event in North Preston, a predominantly Black community northeast of Halifax. He said the RCMP had “disrespected” Black Nova Scotians through the practice of randomly stopping people and logging personal details about them and acknowledged the now banned practice — which disproportionately targeted young Black men — affected many facets of daily life.

Continue Reading

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[thepersonalwords]

Prejudice plunges you into a world of fear and hate. That's no way to live.

DaShanne Stokes

[guardian-of-da-gay]

They Pull Me Back In (Part 1/?)

Sequel to Throw It All Away

Read on Ao3

For Whumptober 2024 Prompt 17: Nowhere Else to Go

“I’m very strong.  I can lift things.  I have steely focus and high endurance,” Knuckles stood at attention as he rattled off what he hoped were his most employable traits.  “I’m talented with–” Weapons and fighting weren’t appropriate here, this was a handy-man shop, not the arena. “...landscaping and stone work.”

The black ram sat behind the counter of his shop and looked Knuckles up and down.  Knuckles knew what he was going to ask before he spoke: “What are you?”

Knuckles could lie.  Or let the ram take a guess and not correct him.  But he didn’t want to.  He was the last echidna and that meant he was the last one left to introduce himself and take pride in his species.  Once he was gone that was it.  He would only ever be what other people said he was.  But he wasn’t gone yet.  He puffed his chest.  “I am an echidna.”

The ram’s eyes widened and his lip curled.  It took a moment for him to gather his surprise and respond: “Is… Is it true you lay eggs?  Even though you are a mammal?”

Knuckles wasn’t sure how that was relevant.  “If I were a female echidna, yes.”

The ram blanched and made a gesture that Knuckles had come to recognize as one that warded off evil.  Great.  Of course Knuckles had to ask for a job from an owl-worshiper.  The ram seemed perturbed that Knuckles did not hiss and flinch back, nor burst into flames.  Instead Knuckles resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

He had once tried to explain to Sonic that he was like a black cat.  But the hedgehog had cut him off, laughing and insisting he meant to say he was a ‘black sheep’.  Typical Sonic, not listening, making his own assumptions!  His words didn’t even make sense!  Black sheep were not associated with witchcraft and devilry, otherwise this interview would be going very differently.

Behind him, a bell jangled merrily as the door to the shop opened.  He spared a moment to cast his senses out as he heard two sets of footsteps.  Without turning around he could tell the newcomers took up little air, carried no tension, smelled of bread and flowers, and had little to no chaos energy.  Not a threat.  He turned his attention back to the ram.

“If you know of my people’s reputation, then you know I am exceptionally skilled with plants,” he tried.  He wasn’t sure if he was in the part of the galaxy where the owl-worshippers admired or despised the echidna’s practice of manipulating chaos energy.  “Do you have any yard work I could assist with?”

“Not for your kind!”  Ah, the kind that despised it then.  “Get out of my shop, abomination!”

This time Knuckles did roll his eyes.  He had been called worse things and thrown out of better establishments by far more dangerous individuals.  But if he could acquire no work, he had no more need to be here.

The newcomers behind him had grown much more tense and he took care to side step them and avoid looking their way.  The last thing he needed was an angry crowd accusing him of frightening an innocent little rabbit girl.

The ram’s eyes followed him the whole way out.  The door clanged behind him as he made his exit.  He stepped out of view of the windows before he stopped and pulled out the little paper map he’d acquired.

Knuckles knew that he wouldn’t be able to swim to the bottom of the ocean to retrieve the Master Emerald.  He would need some sort of submersible.  If Tails weren’t a liar and a traitor who worshiped Sonic, the king liar and traitor, then Knuckles could ask him to build one, but he was, so that option was out of the question.  Unfortunately, any other builder or submarine owner would require some form of payment.  Knuckles didn’t know how much such a thing would cost, but he knew it was more than he had.  Because he had nothing.

Unfortunately, finding paying work was harder than he thought.  He’d walked into the first place he’d seen with a ‘help wanted’ sign and despite the fact that he’d cleaned his fur in the river just that morning, the aardvark behind the counter turned up her nose and declared he stank like a wild animal.  He had no money to waste on silly things like shampoo so he moved on.  His next few attempts were at warehouses, shipyards, and ships themselves.  All inquiries ended when they said they would need identification to confirm he had no criminal past.  He had no identification and he did have a criminal past.

And then there was the fact that technically as an ‘extinct’ species he wasn’t even legally a person in half the universe and so no one was obligated to pay him anything.  He had to keep his head down and eyes out for scavengers who would sell him into working for nothing.

The last person he’d talked to had suggested day labor and pointed out the handyman’s office.  “They don’t ask a lot of questions if you have a strong back and speak the language.”

Well, that was true at least–the ram had only asked two questions.  Knuckles would have to look around and see if he could find another similar type of business.  One that wasn’t run by an owl worshiper.  He crossed out the circled location on his map.

The door jangled open behind him.

Knuckles glanced over a moment, just to make sure it wasn’t the ram coming to chase him off.  It was only the two rabbits.  Except the elder one was looking directly at him.  Her long skirt swished as she strode toward him.

Knuckles straightened and tucked away his map.  Was he about to be chewed out for existing by some mommy rabbit?  She was smiling, but that meant nothing.

“I’m sorry that gentleman was so rude to you,” she said.  “Did I hear you say you’re good at yard work?”

That was not what he was expecting her to say.  He paused for a moment, considering if her words could somehow have been meant as an insult before he finally responded:  “...Yes.”

Her smile had dropped just slightly as she waited on his response, but it returned now.  “My name is Vanilla,” she said.  “And this is my daughter Cream!”

Knuckles’ gaze flicked down to the little girl.  She was holding her mother’s hand, her other hand wrapped around a little purse slung across her shoulder.  He confirmed that her eyes held more curiosity than fear and then returned his gaze to the mother.

“Our garden was badly damaged in that storm last week,” the rabbit said.

He gave a jerky nod as if he knew what she was talking about.  Or why she was telling him this.

“I’ve tried some repairs myself but it’s a lot of work and it’s only Cream and me, you see.”  He did not see.  He nodded like he did, because he did not want to upset the well-dressed lady with the little daughter.  “You said you were looking for work?”

Oh.  He realized suddenly: she was asking if he would work for her.

“I can pay of course,” she carried on.  “I don’t have much, but I can make up the difference with meals?”

“Mama’s a good baker!”  The little girl added.

‘Not much’ was better than Knuckles’ current state of ‘nothing’.  And he hadn’t eaten since… well, since before he left Earth.  His belly clenched uncomfortably just at the thought.  It was the Wachowski’s fault.  They had fed him so generously, he’d forgotten how to be hungry.  They’d been trying to cultivate dependence.  They must have–why else had they discouraged him from hunting and foraging for his own food?

But this wouldn’t be like that.  This would be food he earned.  Both he and this Vanilla woman would benefit from the arrangement.  Knuckles could trust that.

Still, he did not wish to get involved with this rabbit only for her to turn on him later, so he came straight out and said:  “I am Knuckles the Echidna.”  He searched her face for a reaction.  Her eyes widened slightly, as was typical, but she did not curl her lip or scrunch her nose in disgust so that was a step up from usual.

“Oh, like in my book!”   The child said.

“Cream,” her mother’s tone was disapproving.

Knuckles did not react.  He had yet to see a children’s book including echidna where they weren’t represented as villainous thugs.

“You’re friends with the chao!”  She said excitedly.  She reached for the little bag she carried and lifted the flap.

A little blue face flinched away from the light, blinking sleepily.

Knuckles stared.

The little creature seemed to start awake under his gaze.  It let out a cheerful trill, excited to meet someone new, especially someone so unique.  Tiny pink wings buzzed as the little thing drifted out of the bag and floated up to him.  Knuckles held out his hands like he would catch it if it fell, but of course it wouldn’t.  It made excited sounds as it admired him.  He admired it right back.

When he was the same age as this little rabbit girl, his father would tell him stories. Tales of a floating island, the echidna’s ancestral home.  A paradise where deserts and snowy mountains and fruit-filled jungles could all coexist under the warm power of the Master Emerald.  And the echidna’s neighbors in this paradise were child-like fae creatures that were innocent and playful and good.  After the Emerald was lost, their island paradise sank, taking most of their species and the little fairies with it.  Father said there were more on the surface, in special places.  Knuckles had hoped to visit his people’s ancestral neighbors, but had put the thought from his mind eventually.

But here it was: a chao!

“His name is Cheese!”  The little girl held out her hands and this time the little chao landed on her fingers.  He adjusted the little red bowtie on his neck, proud to be friends with his dear Cream.

Knuckles offered his hand to shake before he thought about it.  But it seemed this was a gesture the people of this world understood.  Or at least the little chao did.  Cheese eagerly took the tip of Knuckles’ glove in both of his little yellow paws and shook it.

The girl giggled.

The mother rabbit clasped her hands together, catching Knuckles’ attention.  He found the rabbit’s smile had shifted from merely polite to something warmer.  “I do hope you will consider my offer, Mr. Knuckles.”

“Ah.”  Knuckles cleared his throat and straightened.  The little fairy in his hands lifted off his fingers and he tried to hide his disappointment.  He watched as Cheese fluttered back to his Cream.

“I will take up your offer,” he said.  “Lead the way.”

“Oh.”  She seemed a little surprised by this.  “You’re available now?”

He had nowhere else to go.  But the rabbit lady didn’t need to know that, so Knuckles did not elaborate.  Instead he let her lead the way back toward her home.

With luck, this job would be the first of many.  Slowly but surely, he would work his way to getting the Master Emerald back.  And he would get fed.

Who needed those traitorous Wachowskis?

[cyarskaren52]

It’s giving

[alwaysbewoke]

[frogwen]

guys...😳 basically as soon as i came into work today my boss very earnestly apologized to me and said she was wrong and looked into it for herself and wanted me to know that she changed her mind and wont talk 'so ugly' like that again 😳😳😳😳 re: the olympics boxing stuff and "that bullshit, rude, and invasive" concept of sex testing lmao??

it was a very shocking conversation at 9 am lol but it made me really happy :) she even phrased it that she could tell i was very offended and passionate about the subject and that she realized almost immediately she herself didnt have any knowledge of the situation and felt embarrassed all day for speaking on something she didnt understand!!!!! so she spent all weekend reading about it!!!!!

sadly, no, i dont think shes fullyyy pro trans lol its pretty case by case with her lol 🙄, and we disagree on other things too-BUT this was SO nice to hear that she wanted to understand me!!! i also KNEW that if she just educated herself, she would feel differently bc shes an extremely private person about her own personal business. on friday i asked her '[boss], are YOU her doctor? have you read her medical records?' and she got very uncomfortable.

but she kept arguing lol so i had to pull out the 'oh so what about me, [boss]? im not a man (*i am privately nb but besides thee point) but i have higher t levels so, am i a man? i have a thin mustache, i shave. am i a man? i have broad shoulders. am i a man? what if i exercised more and lost my round parts, would i be a man? buzzed my hair off? (*my boss has short hair) should i be allowed to play sports ? why do we even need gendered sports, do i not fit the weight class? have i not trained? do you truly think men as an entire category are genetically better in every way? should women even try? should they cry and give up? what even is a man anyways?'

kinda embarrassing in retrospect 😶 but she complimented my speaking skills since it inspired her to seek out these answers and she ended up agreeing with me that the human body and experience is so varied and yet these institutions are so narrow, for biased and racist reasons. and we talked about previous cases like serena and caster, and her own experiences growing up 'othered' and degendered. and idk it felt like such a productive conversation, unlike talking with my parents lmao. it just felt so nice to be respected for my opinion ?!?!?

[thatspookyagent]

Being Black and presenting as masculine, embracing masculinity, traditionally masculine gender roles, and so much more that may be viewed as masculine within certain societies, is not lesser than anything associated with femininity. Black masculine women and femmes do not need to conform or perform to your standards and ideas of femininity, in order to be seen as human, gentle, caring, dainty, or worthy of protection. Neither do masc presenting Black women and femmes need to even like being feminine or have to be feminine in general, in order to be important and cherished voices within their respective communities.

All Black women and femmes, regardless of identities and presentations, do not need to embrace and present as feminine in order for our lives to be seen as valuable. We do NOT need to be feminine in order to receive sympathy or empathy. We do not need to be feminine in order to be included in the phrase/movement of Protect Black Women. And we don't need a connection to or to identify with womanhood in order for our voices to be heard.

This goes double for brown and dark skinned Black women and femmes even more. Challenge the systems that make it so darker Black women and femmes are barred from or have restricted access on exploring, embracing, and being seen feminine or women but also challenge the views and associations that being masculine or having a close and intimate relationship with manhood as a darker skinned Black woman/femme is inherently violent, inherently angrier, and inherently unattractive.

Last but not least darker skinned Black women and femmes who are plus sized and present as masculine, should not be anyone's epitomy of what violent, dangerous, or aggressive looks like. Biases like those directly contribute to systematic oppression against fat Black women/femmes on daily basis. They don't exist in a vacuum and should not be taken lightly.

Ultimately Black women and femmes having femininity, the right to identify or be seen as women stripped from us by white people and white supremacy, does not mean make masculinity unaccessible to us, or that presenting as masculine doesn't have its own prejudices and biases to dismantle, or that masculinity is a prison to us or our only viable option. If you're not advocating for and protecting all Black women and femmes than your activism, allyship, actions, and words, are empty.