Joy Buolamwini and Sam Altman: Unmasking the Future of AI

To many of us, it might seem like recent developments in artificial intelligence emerged out of nowhere to pose unprecedented threats to humanity. But to Dr. Joy Buolamwini, a trailblazer in AI research, this moment has been a long time in the making. Dr. Buolamwini has spent decades pondering the many implications of an AI-powered world-all the potential benefits, detriments, and injustices.
But Dr. Buolamwini hasn’t simply explored the potential for harm by AI; she has researched and identified real-world AI harm that has already been done by some of the world’s largest tech companies. In graduate school, she led groundbreaking research at MIT’s Future Factory that exposed widespread racial and gender bias in AI services from tech giants like Microsoft, IBM, and Apple. In her upcoming book, Unmasking AI, Dr. Buolamwini takes readers through the remarkable journey of how she uncovered what she calls “the coded gaze”-the evidence of encoded discrimination and exclusion in tech products-and how she galvanized the movement to prevent AI harms by founding the Algorithmic Justice League.
Dr. Buolamwini has educated President Biden's administration and international leaders at the World Economic Forum and the United Nations on the importance of rectifying algorithmic harms. Her work has been featured in Time, The New York Times, and the Netflix documentary Coded Bias. Now, she shares her story with us.
Join us to hear from a pioneer of algorithmic justice as talks with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Wall Street Journal technology journalist Deepa Seetharaman, explaining Buolamwini's belief that computers are reflections of both the aspirations and the limitations of the people who create them.
NOTES
Speaker photo by Naima Green.
November 7, 2023
SPEAKERS
Sam Altman
CEO, OpenAI; X @sama
Joy Buolamwini
Founder, the Algorithmic Justice League; Author, Unmasking AI: Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines; X @jovialjoy
In Conversation with Deepa Seetharaman
Tech Reporter, The Wall Street Journal; X @dseetharaman
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[@DCinzi]

Dr. Buolamwini insights into the subject are illuminating. Hearing her idaes and opinions has been a wonderful opportunity to expand my understanding. Thanks

[@owurakuotchere-darko9392]

Beautiful and rhythmic poem by Dr. Joy

[@TheRealNickG]

Buolamwini doesn't flesh out the concept of "gaze" but there is some interesting nuance to be found here. The "male gaze" is the easiest to explain, because we generally know the experience. It isn't at all assuming the tendency of all men to constantly be scanning for sexuality, that in and of itself would be more of a conclusion than a framework to understand the concept ("Dudes like sex" wouldn't be a very original idea). The male gaze is about the feeling that women will deal with being watched by men, whether they are or not. Why does a single woman who has no plans to be in public put on makeup? Yes, "because she can", but more specifically that men are a psychological boggieman to women, having internalized the act of wearing makeup to the point of getting enjoyment from being prepared for that gaze. This is the proper framework for understanding the "gaze". What she extends this to is phenomena like black people subjected to "copaganda" media that white people assume gives them comfort that they are being protected, while it reinforced the white gaze on black males, who might not be originally involved in any crime. She would conclude that the white gaze is more of a generator of behavior of black crime than the music that a handful of former criminals is chastised for producing. But since white people love watching those shows so much, the music will be blamed for creating crime rather than it's real function of explaining the lives and times of those who experienced it. That's the kind of thing she is talking about, for what it's worth.

[@adamk5937]

Imagine the huge increase in the number of people getting scammed using AI, in addition to the current billions of dollars in fraud scams that are already being practiced.

[@serenayflamenca]

Why does it seem like Sam is unable to form whole and coherent thoughts?

[@alvaromartinezmateu2175]

Because is the CEO of a company maybe?

[@kellyjohnston2217]

Ummm, is this why Sam got fired?

[@terrizittritsch745]

Sam says we all deserve better quality of life, and implies AI will provide this. So deserving of a better quality of life can be debated endlessly so not going to touch this. But implying that AI will provide this better quality of life generally seems far reaching. AI has the power to displace humans in jobs, and how will this improve their quality of life? AI has the power to manipulate people, markets, and things we haven’t imagined, and how will this improve quality of life. AI will be ‘owned’ by those with big wallets, and the benefits like most benefits in a purely capitalist society will go to those who are funding the investments. I don’t believe for a second that AI is going to provide better quality of life for most, and will instead provide more profit and comfort to the few and AI has the potential to accelerate today’s wealth concentration.

[@mallow610]

We don’t need AI to manipulate us to buy a book

[@TheRealNickG]

No, but the authors DO need AI to manipulate us to buy a book. Do you really think AI cares what we need or think?

[@elizabnet3245]

He keeps saying he's worried and whatnot but in reality, it seems he's not even working on it. His comments are pretty vague...

[@adamk5937]

He’s thinking about the money he’s making and doesn’t want to alienate the huge corporate customers

[@ShitWrangler]

creepy one eye and duology black and white symbolism right out the gate

[@vinodpractical]

Will AI be 'male' and 'white' ?

[@ligmaballz1]

Joy’s voice sounds like a dying alley cat screaming its final screech

[@nicoaddai716]

I don't think her actual voice is important to this conversation. Her voice on the matter, how AI is harming people in the here and now is important, and I argue more important than Sam's as she is in the direct fire of the harms of the AI.

[@fauxnegatif382]

That’s rich coming from @ligmaballz1

[@kingthrawn2463]

The SJW doctor's answers are insufferable to sit through. As if the important or interesting thing about AI is two wrongful arrests through bad facial identification or making sure AI gives equal access to healthcare for everyone. **eyeroll** Is there a version of this video with just Sam's comments?

[@BYTheKillerB]

The doctor is insufferable

[@fauxnegatif382]

As is an unexplained comment. Care to clarify?

[@BYTheKillerB]

@@fauxnegatif382 I dislike her way of expressing herself.

[@fauxnegatif382]

What about it? Tone? Diction? Argumentation style?