Digital Ethics

Reflections on the transformative potential of refusal as a method in the design of technology

Coauthors argue that failure to consider ethical concerns associated with obstacles to data sharing in Africa could cause irreparable harm.

Students, professors, and education experts worry that that’s pushing Black students in particular out of math and science

The ACM Conference for Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT) decided to pause its sponsorship relationship with Google.

Massachusetts is one of the first states to put legislative guardrails around the use of facial recognition technology in criminal investigations.

Update as of Feb 17, 2021: This blogpost has been updated to add information about reports of litigation from FacebookFacebook has recently launched a campaign touting itself as the protector of

Many of the most successful and widely used machine-learning models are trained with the help of thousands of low-paid gig workers. Millions of people around the world earn money on platforms like Amazon Mechanical Turk, which allow companies and researchers to outsource small tasks to online crowdworkers. According to one estimate, more than a million people…

It’s not really a Star Wars story unless there’s a lovable or memorable droid stealing the spotlight. But, when you really stop and think about it, there’s a...

When it's railroading time, you get railroads. When the railroads turn into the personal satrapies of rail-barons, you get trustbusters.A couple decades ago, it was online service time. We had the users, the telcoms systems, the computers, the modems, so we got platforms.1/— Cory Doctorow #BLM (@doctorow) February 20, 2021

Lawsuit cites product executive’s qualms over figures provided to advertisers

Mark Zuckerberg has outsourced crucial decisions about free speech to a new body called the Oversight Board. In collaboration with Radiolab, we look at how and why it came to be.

Can you report on surveillance tools without using surveillance tools?

The automated intelligence systems of Instagram and Facebook have repeatedly denied ads placed by small businesses that make stylish clothing for people with disabilities.

In business, “purpose” is the new black. It has become very fashionable for consultants and business professors to encourage companies to ask “why” they are in business. What is their…

Digital design increasingly exploits users.

Disability is not a bad word.

“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do”, these are the words of Potter Stewart, an American Lawyer and Judge. It is 100% true and makes more sense today as we are surrounded by technology and connected virtually with everything and everyone on the…

Tech creators and journalists ignore the insights and experiences of Black women—and fail to see the harm of their "innovations."

The company’s $62 million FTC settlement shows ‘corporate crime pays’

The increasingly prominent — and inescapable — role of digital technologies during the coronavirus pandemic has been accompanied by concerning trends in privacy and digital ethics. But more robust protection of our rights in the digital realm is possible in the future.

Five artists and scientists are tracking police helicopter surveillance's effects on Los Angeles's residents

An online tool targets only a small slice of what’s out there, but may open some eyes to how widely artificial intelligence research fed on personal images.

Enjoying @joinClubhouse so far. But in order to send invites, it requires access to my contacts. There's zero chance of that happening. No reporter should, especially if it compromises sources. If you want your social network to grow and not compromise privacy, find another way! pic.twitter.com/sumCcNRwKn— Zack Whittaker (@zackwhittaker) January 30, 2021

The streaming platform Spotify has secured a horrifying new patent to monitor the background noise and speech of its users.

Looks like it's no more Mr. Nice Guy.

Biometrics technology goes far beyond wrist bands. Consider how heartbeat readers and more might impact the security of your enterprise.

It turns out Tim Cook blames Mark Zuckerberg for undermining democracy too.

After initially pledging not to recommend civic and political groups to its users, but then sort of continuing to do that anyway, Facebook once again affirmed its commitment to reducing the amount of political content that users see on Wednesday.

One app to rule them all and in the darkness bind them

AI doesn’t just scale solutions — it also scales risk.

"If a business is built on misleading users, on data exploitation, on choices that are no choices at all, it does not deserve our praise. It deserves scorn"

The Civic Signals are 14 indicators of healthy online spaces, based on years of research into what makes online communities work.

A new study surveyed social media superusers on how their favorite platform stacks up against a set of characteristics that contribute to a thriving online space.

Congress asked the FBI to investigate the app’s role in promoting “civil unrest” in the U.S. — but the entire social media ecosystem…

The patent also mentions using 2D or 3D models of specific people

In a report by Metro, unions warn that employers are taking advantage of Covid-19 restrictions to monitor remote workers covertly. One in five companies has admitted to...

Silicon Valley is working behind the scenes to secure senior roles for tech allies in lesser-known but still vital parts of president-elect Joe Biden's admin.

The incredible argument that face recognition does not use face geometry.

Harrisburg University researchers claimed their software could use photos of faces to predict "whether someone is likely going to be a criminal."

Facebook was going to compete with Google for some advertising sales but backed away from the plan after the companies cut a preferential deal, according to court documents.

Machines and technology are supposed to better humanity’s lot, but do they really do that? Industrial revolutions create a host of unintended consequences for people, systems, and culture. Learn what those are and our role in it all. Dr. Rebecca Parsons – Chief Technology Officer, ThoughtWorks –– http://www.thoughtworks.com/paradigmshift

Jumbled up sentences show that AIs still don't really understand language and reveal a way to make AIs better

Despite there being a strong call for responsible technology, the path towards putting ethics into action is still yet to be fully understood. To help guide the implementation of ethics, we have seen the rise of a new professional title; the AI Ethicist. However, it is still unclear what the role and skill set of this new profession must include. The purpose of this piece is to offer a preliminary definition of what it means to be an AI Ethicist by first examining the concept of an ethicist in the context of artificial intelligence, followed by exploring what responsibilities are added to t...

The buck should stop with the PM, but he won’t be held to account. With summer just around the corner, this week’s $1.2 billion settlement of the Robodebt class action has shone a light on government failings. Scott Morrison and … Continue reading →

WhatsApp sparked user outrage due to changes in its privacy policy as it relates to Facebook. What became very clear very quickly is that, while everyone agreed on being outraged, there was a bit of fuzziness on what they agreed to be outraged about.

When we say that "an algorithm is biased" we usually mean, "biased people made an algorithm." This explains why so much machine learning prediction turns into phrenology.1/ pic.twitter.com/kiXzqIdRbI— Cory Doctorow #BLM (@doctorow) January 15, 2021

Nearly 1.6 million Illinois Facebook users will get about $350 each in a landmark privacy settlement, pending final approval from a California federal judge.