Trey Erny

Core 115

Professor Albaro

3/22/21

The Real Reason Tech Struggles With Algorithmic Bias

Yael Eisenstat’s article, The Real Reason Teach Struggles With Algorithmic Bias, raises the

question; “Are algorithms and artificial intelligence inherently prejudiced?” This article has also

asked us the question, “Do Facebook, Google, and Twitter have political bias?”. There are many

complicated answers to the questions raised in the article. But the bottom line is, the tech

industry is not doing enough to address these biases.

Before continuing, let’s talk about what artificial intelligence and algorithms are. An

algorithm is a set of calculations that are carried out, most of the time to complete or perform a

math equation. Artificial intelligence is basically the use of many different algorithms to mimic

or replace the need of human intelligence. “The promise of an algorithm’s objectivity has

engendered our trust in these data-driven approaches, however when used outside of a purely

mathematical context, algorithms reflect an instance of logic programmed by a human – logic

that frequently reflects the individual bias or the interests of the company they represent” (The

Social Dilemma, 2021).

 “Sixty-four percent of people who joined extremist groups on facebook did so because

the algorithms steered them there” (The Social Dilemma, 2021). This statement alone shows

that artificial intelligence and algorithms are biased. Algorithms tend to promote content that

causes anger, outrage, and it also amplifies the biases within the data that we feed them. To

answer the main question, I do not think that artificial intelligence and algorithms are purposely

biased. “AI systems learn to make decisions based on training data, which may contain skewed

human decisions or represent historical or social inequities” (Nouri, 2021). Based on this

information, the algorithms only base their information on human intelligence and information,

therefore it is not it’s fault.

The author of The Real Reach Tech Struggles With Algorithmic Bias was an employee for

facebook. She doesn't remember anyone intentionally trying to incorporate bias into the

system, but she also did not find anyone who knew how to counter bias. Yael, while working at

Facebook, also noticed that

 Works Cited

Eisenstat, Y. (2019, February 12). The real reason TECH struggles with algorithmic bias.

Retrieved April 23, 2021, from

https://www.wired.com/story/the-real-reason-tech-struggles-with-algorithmic-bias/

Nouri, S. (2021, February 03). Council post: The role of bias in artificial intelligence.

Retrieved April 23, 2021, from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/02/04/the-role-of-bias-in-artificial-

intelligence/?sh=5578770f579d

'The social dilemma' - what is the social dilemma? (2021, March 24). Retrieved April 23,

2021, from https://www.thesocialdilemma.com/the-dilemma/