Summary
Can artificial intelligence and face recognition technology be racist? AI is increasingly being used in all aspects of our lives but there is a problem with it. It often can't see people because of the colour of their skin. Zoe Kleinman speaks to Joy Buolamwini founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, Suresh Venkatasubramanian from the School of Computing at the University of Utah and Calum Chase, an AI expert and author about what is being done to overcome this problem. (Photo: Facial recognition system, Credit: Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | How would you feel if a computer didn't recognize your face because you were black, |
| 0:07.8 | or if it decided you were more likely to commit a crime because of the way you look? |
| 0:12.3 | The computer vision software I was using didn't detect my face consistently, |
| 0:17.4 | and I found wearing a white mask because I have very dark skin made it easier. |
| 0:22.7 | The example I saw recently a New Zealand passport photo system that could not recognize the fact |
| 0:27.9 | that someone of the Asian features had their eyes open instead of closed. |
| 0:31.7 | I'm Zoe Kleinman and in today's business daily, I'm going to be exploring the issue of prejudice |
| 0:36.3 | and racism in tech, not from |
| 0:38.5 | people, but from the machines themselves. If algorithms take decisions based on inadequate |
| 0:45.1 | data sets, they can cause serious problems. Business Daily from the BBC. |
| 0:54.1 | Join me on a lunchtime stroll down one of London's busiest shopping streets. |
| 0:58.4 | It's packed with tourists and locals enjoying the warmer weather and the retail therapy, |
| 1:02.2 | but none of us is flying under the radar. |
| 1:05.6 | There's one CCTV camera in this city for every 14 people, according to the British |
| 1:10.7 | Security Industry Authority. My image is being captured dozens of... TV camera in this city for every 14 people, according to the British security industry authority. |
| 1:12.9 | My image is being captured dozens of times right now as I'm talking to you. |
| 1:17.3 | And if I were to disappear or commit a crime, that footage would be used to try to find me. |
| 1:23.6 | Facial recognition technology is becoming part of the furniture of our lives. |
| 1:27.4 | From helping you tag your friends in your social media posts and unlocking your phone to becoming part of airport security and the fight against crime. |
| 1:37.9 | It's far reaching, as one man in China found out the hard way recently. Mr. Owl was arrested at a pop concert in Nanchang |
| 1:45.9 | City when his face was picked out from among a crowd of 60,000 as being that of a wanted man. |
| 1:52.9 | How does it work? Well, your face is digitally transformed into a mathematical formula |
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