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Uber’s Greyball Scandal: When Software Ethics Hit the Road

  Uber’s Greyball Scandal: When Software Ethics Hit the Road In early 2017, Uber found itself in hot water when The New York Times revealed the company had been using a secret software tool called “Greyball” to systematically evade law enforcement in cities where its service faced regulatory challenges. The scandal highlighted a troubling intersection of technology and ethics that continues to resonate in today’s conversations about tech accountability. What Was Greyball and How Did It Work? Greyball was part of Uber’s broader “Violation of Terms of Service” (VTOS) program , which was originally designed to protect drivers from potentially dangerous riders. However, the company repurposed this technology to identify and avoid government officials attempting to catch Uber operating illegally. The software employed several sophisticated techniques: •              Geofencing: Creating digital boundaries around go...
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What if your future—a job offer, a medical diagnosis, even your freedom—depended on an algorithm that doesn’t even know you exist?

Imagine being arrested for a crime you didn’t commit because a facial recognition algorithm got it wrong. Or being rejected for your dream job because an AI system decided your resume wasn’t “the right fit.” It might sound far-fetched, but these scenarios are happening today. AI systems are making decisions that impact our lives in ways most of us don’t even realize. While these systems promise efficiency and fairness, they often amplify the biases present in their training data. The consequences aren’t just technical—they’re personal, social, and deeply ethical. This post explores how AI systems inherit and magnify bias, the real-world impacts of these failures, and what it will take to build systems that serve everyone fairly. Along the way, we’ll draw on insights from Amy Ko , a researcher specializing in software ethics, inclusivity, and design. Ko’s work, such as Cooperative Software Development , provides a framework for tackling the ethical challenges posed by modern technol...
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Welcome to The Ethics of Innovation 🎉

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Hi there! 👋 Welcome to The Ethics of Innovation 🌟 — a blog where I dive into the fascinating (and sometimes tricky) world of technology and its impact on our lives. With all the buzz around AI, groundbreaking software, and futuristic gadgets, innovation is reshaping our world faster than ever. 🚀 But here’s the thing: just because we can create amazing tech doesn’t mean we should do it without thinking about the consequences. 🤔 That’s where ethics comes in. How do we build AI systems that are fair? How do we ensure innovation benefits everyone, not just a few? These are the big questions we’ll explore together. ✨ What You Can Expect: Real-world examples of tech that went right... and wrong 🛑 Stories about the impact of AI on jobs, healthcare, and even justice systems ⚖️ Thought-provoking discussions about making tech more inclusive and fair 💡 About Me I’m Shahir Ahmed, a tech enthusiast and aspiring full-stack developer currently studying computer science and mathematics 📚 at ...
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