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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