Short episodes exploring data science ethics in the news
Show Notes on Tay Bot Tay Bot was a very short-lived chat AI. Launched by Microsoft in 2016 with the goal of researching conversational speech online, it soon learned all-too-well from users that there is a very dark side to human nature on the internet. Within 24 hours, Tay Bot was both repeating and generating […]
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Show Notes on Apple Credit Card Apple recently decided to offer a branded Apple credit card in conjunction with Goldman Sachs. This is the first foray into consumer credit cards for both companies and all did not go according to plan. David Heinemeier Hansson, creator of Ruby on Rails, applied for the card and tweeted […]
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Show Notes on 2B-Alert The US Army commissioned a study to find the optimal amount and timing of caffeine consumption for soldiers to maintain peak alertness. I have never been more proud of my tax dollars in all my life. Now, the 2B-Alert tool has been released in a web application accessible to the public. […]
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Episode 30: Colleges Fake Data for Rankings – Show Notes Going to college is a life-altering decision for young adults. They prepare themselves with academics, standardized tests, extracurricular activities, and a host of research as to the best fit for their interests. The colleges, for their part, provide marketing materials, campus outreach, tours, and more […]
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Episode 29: Tesla Data Storage – Show Notes Tesla has given the world a new promise between its electric engine, sleek styling, and amazing autopilot. But under the hood lurks a dangerous secret. Every time a phone pairs with the vehicle, all of the contact data, phone call logs, messages, and more gets pulled into […]
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Episode 27: Predicting Mortality – Show Notes Death comes for us all. Even for kings he comes. Robert Bolt Researchers in the UK have been able to vastly improve the capabilities to predict an early death for middle-aged patients. New algorithms were developed to be 76% accurate, even finding different indicators that were more predictive. […]
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Episode 26 – Citizenship, Privacy, and the 2020 Census Show Notes The US Census happens every ten years and provides the basis for democratic representation, federal fund distribution, and swaths of research. But this time, the census is poised to potentially degrade its own results. The proposed inclusion of a single question around citizenship on […]
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Episode 25 – US GDPR Show Notes Data scientists in many industries rely on personal data to develop models and make decisions. They can gather data from third parties, the internet, internal sources, and more to amass a stockpile of information on which to base algorithms. That could change if the government implements a US […]
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Episode 24: Preventing Fake News – Show Notes Researchers at OpenAI have made amazing breakthroughs in natural language processing in the creation and interpretation of content. So amazing, in fact, that they have elected to withhold the full version from release so that it does not fall into malicious hands. They stated preventing fake news […]
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Episode 23: Concerns About AI – Show Notes Horror stories of AI gone mad are everywhere in science fiction – but are they likely to become reality? Many Americans now believe so. Based on a recent Vox article covering a study from the University of Oxford, we discuss the top concerns about AI on the […]
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