Fortune reporters Aaron Pressman and Adam Lashinsky highlight graduate student Joy Buolamwini’s work aimed at eliminating bias in AI and machine learning systems. Pressman and Lashinsky note that Buolamwini believes that “who codes matters,” as more diverse teams of programmers could help prevent algorithmic bias.
In an effort to promote transparency and knowledge sharing, HUBweek 2018 will feature a semi-permanent glass structure showcasing new innovations being developed around the region, reports Cynthia Fernandez for The Boston Globe.
A study co-authored by MIT researchers finds that robots can develop prejudices against other robots not working on their team, writes John Biggs for TechCrunch. The researchers also found that, like humans, prejudices were reduced when there were “more distinct subpopulations being present within a population.”
HUBweek, an annual festival co-founded by MIT that focuses on ideas for the future, will include a two-day Change Maker Conference this year. J.D. Capelouto writes for The Boston Globe, another HUBweek founder, that this new event “will address a variety of topics, including enabling technologies, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, and civic thinking.”
Zofia Niemtus writes for The Guardian about tech startups focused on helping breastfeeding mothers. Niemtus notes that MIT’s second “Make The Breast Pump Not Suck!” hackathon, which focused on marginalized groups in society, resulted in projects like “a pop-up shelf for pumping in unsanitary public places; a lactation kit for use in disaster zones; and a virtual reality app.”
CNBC reporter Courtney Connley spotlights Mareena Robinson Snowden, the first black woman to earn a PhD in nuclear engineering from MIT. Snowden’s advisor, Senior Research Scientist Richard Lanza, says that, “Mareena has that rare combination of passion, enthusiasm and technical and policy expertise."
In a recent blog post, Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer, Brad Smith, references research by MIT graduate student Joy Buolamwini while calling for government to regulate the use of facial recognition software. Buolamwini’s work “showed error rates of as much as 35% for systems classifying darker skinned women,” reports Dina Bass for Bloomberg.
Katharine Schwab of Co.Design highlights graduate student Joy Buolamwini and Visiting Scholar J. Nathan Matias as “design heroes” for their commitment to keep technology fair. Schwab writes that Buolamwini has forced companies “to develop better, more equitable technology” while Matias helped “reduced the prevalence of fake news.”
In an article for The New York Times, graduate student Joy Buolamwini writes about how AI systems can often reinforce existing racial biases and exclusions. Buolamwini writes that, “Everyday people should support lawmakers, activists and public-interest technologists in demanding transparency, equity and accountability in the use of artificial intelligence that governs our lives.”
Inside Higher Ed reporter Colleen Flaherty writes about a new report from the National Academics of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, co-chaired by Institute Prof. Sheila Widnall, examining the impact of sexual harassment in academia. Widnall explains that in order to eradicate harassment, “all members of campuses -- students, faculty, staff and administrators -- will be needed to promote an inclusive and respectful environment."
In an article for Inside Higher Ed, Colleen Flaherty highlights a study co-authored by Prof. Kathleen Thelen, which examines the gender gap in publication rates for political science journals. “Beyond a general gender gap, Teele and Thelen also found that women remain underrepresented in terms of co-authorship,” writes Flaherty.
Boston Globe reporter Sophia Eppolito writes that during MIT’s 2018 Commencement exercises, speakers stressed the importance of uniting to create a better world. “We all strive to see the world, not as a zero-sum game, but as positive-sum — as a world where generous collaboration makes each collaborator smarter, stronger, and richer in every way,” said MIT President L. Rafael Reif.
Quartz reporter Leah Fessler writes that Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s Commencement address at MIT featured a call for graduates to help create more inclusive technologies and workplaces. “It’s not the technology you build that will define you. It’s the teams you build and what people do with the technology you build,” Sandberg advised.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg advocated for MIT graduates to be, “clear-eyed optimists” while speaking at MIT’s 2018 Commencement exercises, reports Ethan Wolff-Mann for Yahoo! Finance. “It’s not enough to be technologists. We have to make sure that technology serves people,” she said.
AP reporter Collin Binkley writes that during her Commencement address at MIT, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg called for equality in the technology sector. "Build workplaces where everyone — everyone — is treated with respect," she said. "We need to stop harassment and hold both perpetrators and enablers accountable. And we need to make a personal commitment to stop racism and sexism."