Amazon scraps computer program for being sexist

Bilge_Rat · 10-10-18, 01:57 PM

too delicious, ironic or funny not to post.

Quote:

Amazon scraps AI for bias against women, raises more doubts about objectivity of algorithms

According to a new report today from Reuters, the Seattle tech giant was forced to scrap an AI recruiting engine after the company came to realize that the algorithm was excluding women.

The in-house technology was supposed to crawl the Web and identify candidates that the fast-expanding firm might hire for a variety of software development and technical jobs. But within months of its 2014 deployment, Amazon executives realized that it wasn't functioning as intended.

Using data from a decade's worth of resumes, the engine was designed to scan employment and academic histories using recognized patterns from other high achievers, and some 50,000 keywords. But because the vast majority of the CVs came from men, it taught itself that male candidates were preferable, rejecting words like "women's" as well as graduates from all-female colleges.

Amazon tried to correct the fault, but eventually lost faith in the system, coming to fear that it would simply come up with other ways to discriminate.

The program was abandoned last year, and now the company is trying to build another, more diverse one from scratch.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/...tien-1.4855190

Eichhörnchen · 10-10-18, 03:10 PM

Larger numbers of one gender over the other in any exercise which attempts to rate skill or effectiveness are bound to skew the outcome, in my view.

Just as they do (I maintain) in studies of women vs men drivers: many more male drivers behind the wheel than female just adds to the probability that they will be the cause of more road traffic accidents... this has no bearing on the question of whether they are, overall, less competent drivers than women

em2nought · 10-11-18, 03:19 AM

So even the AI suffers from toxic masculinity?

Jimbuna · 10-16-18, 03:26 PM

Never one to miss an opportunity.

10-10-18, 03:10 PM	#2
Eichhörnchen Starte das Auto Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: The Fens Posts: 17,371 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Larger numbers of one gender over the other in any exercise which attempts to rate skill or effectiveness are bound to skew the outcome, in my view. Just as they do (I maintain) in studies of women vs men drivers: many more male drivers behind the wheel than female just adds to the probability that they will be the cause of more road traffic accidents... this has no bearing on the question of whether they are, overall, less competent drivers than women __________________

10-11-18, 03:19 AM	#3
em2nought Ocean Warrior Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 3,485 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	So even the AI suffers from toxic masculinity? __________________ em2nought is ecstatic garbage!

10-16-18, 03:26 PM	#4
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,461 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	Never one to miss an opportunity. __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!