Press

Leaked e-mails brag HT could see "who got that money (DEA: anyone interested? :P )"

A couple of weeks ago, I posted this column about a Kickstarter project for a standalone speech recognition and synthesis shield called MOVI -- which stands for "My Own Voice Interface" -- for use with the Arduino and other MCU boards.

"When Do Targeted Online Ads Constitute Discrimination?"
July 9, 2015 | Susan Krashinsky, Globe and Mail

Plenty of online ads are targeted to people based on attributes like their gender, geographic location, or interests they’ve expressed through their Web browsing behaviours. But when does that targeting constitute discrimination?

Using AdFisher, a tool developed at CMU that uses statistical methodology to analyze Google ads, researchers created 17,370 simulated male and female user profiles programmed only to visit jobseeker websites. The experiment was meant to be part of a larger study concerning general Google Ad settings.

Researchers have found that males are more likely to be shown ads on Google that are related to high-paying jobs than are women.

"When Algorithms Discriminate"
July 9, 2015 | Claire Cain Miller, New York Times

The online world is shaped by forces beyond our control, determining the stories we read on Facebook, the people we meet on OkCupid and the search results we see on Google. Big data is used to make decisions about health care, employment, housing, education and policing. But can computer programs be discriminatory?

"Researchers Probe Online Ad-Targeting Bias"
July 9, 2015 | Natasha Lomas, TechCrunch

As algorithmic decision-making touches more and more aspects of our lives, questions about the underlying rules that route these bits and bytes — and ultimately determine the digital content and opportunities we are exposed to — are growing.

On Tuesday, the biggest Bitcoin transaction ever made was loaded on to the blockchain, the publicly viewable ledger that records every instance of the cryptocurrency changing hands.

"Sind Googles Werbe-Algorithmen Sexistisch?"
July 8, 2015 | Moritz Geier, Wired.de

Diskriminieren Google-Algorithmen Frauen? Eine Studie hat Programme untersucht, die für die Platzierung und Verteilung von Werbung im Internet zuständig sind. Das Ergebnis: Anzeigen für hochdotierte Jobs werden Männern öfter als Frauen angezeigt.

"Is Google Serving Up Sexist Ad Results?"
July 8, 2015 | Chloe Albanesius, PCMag

Much has been made about the lack of diversity in Silicon Valley, with the industry's top firms acknowledging a failure to hire enough women and minorities. But do diversity issues extend to products they produce, too?

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