AI and Social Justice
What is AI and Social Justice?
AI and social justice is about ensuring that the development and deployment of artificial intelligence technologies contribute positively to society by promoting fairness, equity, and human rights. This involves addressing biases in AI algorithms, ensuring equitable access to AI benefits, and preventing AI from exacerbating existing social inequalities. Practitioners and advocates in this field work to create transparent, accountable, and inclusive AI systems that serve the diverse needs of all communities. This also includes challenging the power dynamics and structural inequalities that may be reinforced by AI technologies, thereby fostering a more just and equitable society.
The intersection of artificial intelligence technologies and efforts to promote fairness, equity, and human rights within society.
Examples
- Facial Recognition Bias: Studies have shown that facial recognition technologies can have higher error rates for people of color, leading to misidentifications and potential injustices. For instance, an MIT Media Lab study highlighted how commercial facial analysis programs had higher error rates for darker-skinned individuals compared to lighter-skinned individuals.
- AI in Hiring: AI-driven hiring tools are designed to streamline recruitment, but they can also perpetuate biases. For example, Amazon had to scrap an AI recruiting tool after discovering it favored male candidates over female candidates, as it had been trained on resumes submitted over a ten-year period, which were predominantly from men.
Additional Information
- Bias Mitigation: Techniques and strategies are being developed to identify and reduce biases in AI systems, making them fairer and more inclusive.
- Equitable Access: Efforts are being made to ensure that all communities, especially marginalized ones, have access to the benefits of AI, from healthcare to education.