For quite some time it has been axiomatic that there are certain degrees which are unlikely to help you secure a job. Career Addict furnishes us with a revealing top 10 list of ‘useless’ degrees which includes the culinary arts, the liberal arts, and communications. While the Career Addict article is not as brazenly dismissive…
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Racism and Algorithms: Part 2
Previously we have written about the problematic relationship between algorithms and law enforcement, specifically what happens when algorithms are supposed to predict crime in advance of it happening (precrime). Today we will briefly mention another case of racism in algorithms by going over a recent scandal, which the social media giant Twitter has already apologised…
Our First Consortium Meeting – Profiling or Visualising?
This past Friday (September 25th) we had our first consortium meeting with all of our partners present since our project first launched in February – which feels like it was a lifetime ago now! Originally our entire consortium was to meet in person once each year, but at our launch (pictured above) we realised that…
Precrime: Racism and Algorithms
Previously we have written about how algorithms can be classist, today we will consider the curious case of Pasco, Florida to reflect on the ways in which algorithms can be racist. In 1956 US author Phillip K. Dick published a science fiction novella called The Minority Report, set in an unspecified time in the future….
ESPANet Online Seminar Details
On September 3rd espanet (the European Network for Social Policy Analysis) is hosting a series of online seminars for PhD students to network and present their research. See the details below. Combined Streams 3-4: Big data and digitalisation in social and employment services Conveners: Minna van Gerven (University of Helsinki, Finland), Janine Leschke (Copenhagen Business…
Computer says no: can algorithms be fair?
Yesterday Open Democracy held a live discussion on the broad topic of whether algorithms can be fair. This was in the context of the A-level results fiasco which you can read more about here. The discussion was highly informative and got into many of the nitty gritty ethical issues of algorithms, such as whose interests…
The Ethics of Algorithms: Classism
Algorithms are seductive because they implicitly suggest that their results are free from human judgement or bias. In our project we believe that these assumptions must be challenged. Algorithms are a remarkable piece of technology, but they have the power to do great harm if not used ethically and responsibly. A recent case in the…
New Deliverable: Report on Commonly Used Algorithms and their Performance
Good morning all, today our project has reached another milestone by sending another deliverable to the EU. As Hecat intends to build a more ethical algorithm, it is essential that we understand and critique what already exists. This report exists to inform us of the approaches which have already been taken in the algorithm arena,…
This Week in HECAT
This has been a very productive week for the HECAT project, with several important deadlines hit. We wanted to take a moment and update all of you. We would like to thank our partners in Sciences Po (France) for submitting their deliverable on the User Vision Statement of our project. This is a public document…
An Informal Chat
Today our project met to have a coffee meeting, but via zoom call. At this difficult time, it is more important than ever to maintain our social bonds and make a special effort to reach out and discuss our work. Up until now our work package leaders had been meeting once a month to talk…