In "How to Make a Racist AI Without Really Trying," Robyn Speer shows how to build a simple sentiment analysis system, using standard, well-known sources for word embeddings (GloVe and word2vec), and a widely used sentiment lexicon. Her program assigns "negative" sentiment to names and phrases associated with minorities, and "positive" sentiment to names and phrases associated with Europeans. Even a sentence like "Let's go get Mexican food" gets a much lower sentiment score than "Let's go get Italian food." That result isn't surprising, nor are Speer's conclusions: if you take a simplistic approach to sentiment analysis, you shouldn't be surprised when you get a program that embodies racist, discriminatory values. It's possible to minimize algorithmic racism (though possibly not eliminate it entirely), and Speer discusses several strategies for doing so.

In "How to Make a Racist AI Without Really Trying," Robyn Speer shows how to build a simple sentiment analysis system, using standard, well-known sources for word embeddings (GloVe and word2vec), and a widely used sentiment lexicon. Her program assigns "negative" sentiment to names and phrases associated with minorities, and "positive" sentiment to names and phrases associated with Europeans. Even a sentence like "Let's go get Mexican food" gets a much lower sentiment score than "Let's go get Italian food." That result isn't surprising, nor are Speer's conclusions: if you take a simplistic approach to sentiment analysis, you shouldn't be surprised when you get a program that embodies racist, discriminatory values. It's possible to minimize algorithmic racism (though possibly not eliminate it entirely), and Speer discusses several strategies for doing so.

I'm writing this before Thanksgiving, which I used to hate and now don't -- largely because I no longer spend the day arguing with family. I've been listening to a lot of friends and relatives dread this year's event because of political discussions that are likely to occur, and the equally annoying comments and critiques from those who supported both candidates. I have no doubt that both sides will use fake news, quotes taken out of context, and false facts to make their points to the annoyance of those of us who just want to have a nice big meal and then drop into a food coma for a few happy hours afterward. Perhaps my own most memorable Thanksgiving was going over to my then steady girlfriend's house, having her compare herself to a Playboy playmate, and making the unfortunate comment "you wish," to the glee of her brothers, and effectively ending the relationship. My defense of "trying to fit it," I'm afraid, fell on deaf ears.

The current technological boom, and the increasing consumerism is doing that every day appear more machines that are playing an essential role in our lives and have already become a vital necessity in every activity that we, or actually they, carry out. Either at home, in the car, at work or anyplace, we will soon have a dependence of these machines. In this post I wanted to reflect the positive aspect of machines in our lives and I have considered that the machines will take the right decisions that will make be better people but without controlling us, but the risks to become too dependent on machines exist and we cannot forget.

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display