Princeton University - Biased bots: Artificial-intelligence systems echo human prejudices

In debates over the future of artificial intelligence, many experts think of these machine-based systems as coldly logical and objectively rational. But in a new study, Princeton University-based researchers have demonstrated how machines can be reflections of their creators in potentially problematic ways. Common machine-learning programs trained with ordinary human language available online can acquire the cultural biases embedded in the patterns of wording, the researchers reported in the journal Science April 14. These biases range from the morally neutral, such as a preference for flowers over insects, to discriminatory views on race and gender. Identifying and addressing possible biases in machine learning will be critically important as we increasingly turn to computers for processing the natural language humans use to communicate, as in online text searches, image categorization and automated translations.