Show notes
Guests:
Meredith Broussard, NYU Associate Professor and data journalist [@nyuniversity]
On Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithbroussard/
On Twitter | https://twitter.com/merbroussard?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
On Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/meredithkbroussard
Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast [@RedefiningCyber]
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/sean-martin
Host: Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society Podcast
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/marco-ciappelli
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Episode Introduction
"Meredith Broussard, a data journalism professor at NYU, discusses her latest book "More Than a Glitch" in which she explores the intersection of technology and society. She explains how we need to be more aware of the biases present in computational systems and be willing to protest when unfair decisions are made."
Welcome to the show!
Today, we have an exciting conversation with Meredith about the intersection of technology and society. Meredith is a data journalism professor at New York University, a researcher, and the author of two books, including her latest, "More Than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech."
In this episode, we will explore how the problems of humanity are manifesting inside our computational systems, and why we should not have blind faith in these systems. We will discuss the widespread trust in computational systems, which is rooted in our inability to understand the complexity of the technology. However, with the increasing use of algorithms to make decisions on our behalf, we need to become more aware of what's happening inside these systems. We need to be able to protest when a decision is made that is unfair, biased, or systematically discriminatory.
In "More Than a Glitch," Meredith demystifies AI and explains it in plain language so that people can feel more empowered around computational systems. She argues that we should not think of problems of racism or sexism, or ableism in our computational systems as glitches that are easily solved. Instead, we need to add more nuance to the way we talk about them. This conversation will give you a glimpse into the issues surrounding technology and society that are vital to understanding in today's world.
So, join us as we delve deep into the topic of the intersection of technology and society with Meredith. Share this podcast with your friends and colleagues, and don't forget to subscribe, so you never miss an episode. Let's get started!
About the book
When technology reinforces inequality, it's not just a glitch—it's a signal that we need to redesign our systems to create a more equitable world.
The word “glitch” implies an incidental error, as easy to patch up as it is to identify. But what if racism, sexism, and ableism aren't just bugs in mostly functional machinery—what if they're coded into the system itself? In the vein of heavy hitters such as Safiya Umoja Noble, Cathy O'Neil, and Ruha Benjamin, Meredith Broussard demonstrates in More Than a Glitch how neutrality in tech is a myth and why algorithms need to be held accountable.
Broussard, a data scientist and one of the few Black female researchers in artificial intelligence, masterfully synthesizes concepts from computer science and sociology. She explores a range of examples: from facial recognition technology trained only to recognize lighter skin tones, to mortgage-approval algorithms that encourage discriminatory lending, to the dangerous feedback loops that arise when medical diagnostic algorithms are trained on insufficiently diverse data. Even when such technologies are designed with good intentions, Broussard shows, fallible humans develop programs that can result in devastating consequences.
Broussard argues that the solution isn't to make omnipresent tech more inclusive, but to root out the algorithms that target certain demographics as “other” to begin with. With sweeping implications for fields ranging from jurisprudence to medicine, the ground-breaking insights of More Than a Glitch are essential reading for anyone invested in building a more equitable future.
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Resources
The book: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262047654/more-than-a-glitch/
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