Personal data is valued primarily because data can be turned into a private asset. That has significant implications for political and societal choices.
A key element of the battle between truth and propaganda has nothing to do with technology. It has to do with how people are much more likely to accept something if it confirms their beliefs.
Mathematician Hannah Fry has called for tech and data scientists to make an ethical pledge, as medical doctors do. But the same result might be delivered by simply asking people to mind their bias.
Using machine learning and natural language processing, researchers are developing an algorithm that can distinguish between real and fake news articles.
Algorithms are only human (well, designed by humans) but we need to trust they’ll do what they’re supposed to do. And that means we need a better way to test them.
Instead of trying to explain the mystifying mathematics behind how algorithms work, this researcher started looking at how they actually ‘see’ the world we live in.
People know about Facebook’s problems, but assume they are largely immune – even while they imagine that everyone else is very susceptible to influence.
Technology experts have long worried about a ‘digital divide’ between those who could use computers and those who could not. Artificial intelligence algorithms are widening the gulf.
To multiply two numbers by hand take a few steps but it’s something we’re taught in school. When dealing with big numbers, really big numbers, we need to a quicker way to do things.
It’s time for social media platforms to be more open about how livestreaming works, how it is moderated, and what should happen if or when the rules break down.