[kictanet] Is Facebook biased on its newsfeed?

Thu May 12 18:36:03 EAT 2016

Ahmed

Machine learning doesn't happen in a vacuum...

Ali Hussein
Principal
Hussein & Associates
+254 0713 601113 / 0770906375

Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim

"Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought".  ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi

Sent from my iPad

> On 12 May 2016, at 6:10 PM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy <ultimateprogramer at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I think there is a need to differential Machine Learning and Algorithms fellows. Machine Learning is where the problem is :)
> 
>> On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 5:55 PM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy <ultimateprogramer at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Its not the algorithms Ali, its the Machine Learning process :)
>> 
>>> On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 5:42 PM, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
>>> Ahmed
>>> 
>>> You obviously missed the story of the Microsoft algorithm that was taught to behave like a racist.   :-)
>>> 
>>> http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/24/11297050/tay-microsoft-chatbot-racist
>>> 
>>> My point is that we do seem to forget that all these algorithms are created by humans who have biases. 
>>> 
>>> Google is in trouble for deliberately skewing their algorithms to benefit their own products. Not sure this is wrong but the European regulators seem to think so to the extent of threatening them with a 10% of revenue fine..
>>> 
>>> With great power comes great responsibility - so goes the adage.. 
>>> 
>>> Ali Hussein
>>> Principal
>>> Hussein & Associates
>>> +254 0713 601113 / 0770906375
>>> 
>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>> Skype: abu-jomo
>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought".  ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>> 
>>>> On 12 May 2016, at 5:20 PM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy <ultimateprogramer at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> There are a number of elements at play here:
>>>> Obviously to a great degree this algorithm has massively helped Facebook. Not that I am totally on their side, what I mean to say is that lets give credit where its due. Without this algorithm we would have seen massive fallout and loss of klout. This is something Twitter did not figure out so well. LinkedIn is still the place professionals like to hang out, but its not the place professionals like to stay. Just stating how it came to be that Facebook is air and air is life (so to speak).
>>>> If truly there is a bias to all this (which I am yes, yet to comprehend how this bias is visible) it can mean 2 things:
>>>> Either content producers are not building influence better than those who rank at the top. Or
>>>> If not, there is a genuine market opportunity in this gap.
>>>> But algorithms are algorithms, and my experience developing algorithms tells me computer algorithms can not easily be twisted to lie, especially in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
>>>> 
>>>> But these are all books on their own anyway.
>>>> 
>>>> Just my 2 cents.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 4:52 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>>> Listers
>>>>> 
>>>>> This mail is coped from the Fortune.com Data Sheet.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The “Trending” topics section of Facebook seems such a trivial thing, and in many ways it is. It looks and feels like an afterthought—ironically, it started as an attempt to copy Twitter—and many users probably don’t even notice it’s there. But now, it has triggered a national discussion around bias and the power of social platforms.
>>>>> 
>>>>> In case you missed the brouhaha, it started with a report from Gizmodo that profileda team of anonymous journalists working at Facebook who curate the news that shows up in the Trending section. A subsequent report quoted one of the journalists as saying the team routinely removed certain right-wing political sites from the section, even when the social network’s data showed they were trending.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The revelation seemed harmless enough, at first: Journalists hired to edit things were actually editing them! But the comment soon snowballed into a debate over Facebook’s role in news consumption, and whether its sheer size and influence brings with it some level of responsibility.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Facebook responded to the story by saying that its policy is to remain as neutral as possible editorially, and that it will look into reports of misbehavior. Then it issued a second, even more heartfelt response, after the Senate Commerce Committee sent a letter asking the company to answer some questions around political influence and the Trending section.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The real issue, of course, isn’t the tiny section of the Facebook home page that follows trending topics. It’s the fact that the kind of editorial selection those journalists engaged in is happening every minute of every day on the main news feed, courtesy of the Facebook ranking algorithm. And that algorithm, since it is programmed by human beings, inevitably contains biases of all kinds.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The bottom line is that Facebook is more than just a social network where people exchange photos of their pets—it is the largest and most influential media entity the world has ever seen. The sooner Facebook acknowledges that, and becomes part of the discussion around how it can manage its social responsibilities, the better off we will all be.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Ali Hussein
>>>>> Principal
>>>>> Hussein & Associates
>>>>> +254 0713 601113 / 0770906375
>>>>> 
>>>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>>>> Skype: abu-jomo
>>>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> "Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought".  ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi
>>>>> 
>>>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>>> 
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>>>>> 
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>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> -- 
>>>> Ahmed Maawy
>>>> Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO)
>>>> Ambassador - Open Knowledge
>>>> Director - Startup Grind Mombasa
>>>> Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer
>>>> (KE) +254 714 960 627
>>>> Skype: ultimateprogramer
>>>> 
>>>> swahilibox.co.ke
>>>> www.okfn.org
>>>> startupgrind.com
>>>> ajplus.net
>>>> www.everylayer.com
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> Ahmed Maawy
>> Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO)
>> Ambassador - Open Knowledge
>> Director - Startup Grind Mombasa
>> Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer
>> (KE) +254 714 960 627
>> Skype: ultimateprogramer
>> 
>> swahilibox.co.ke
>> www.okfn.org
>> startupgrind.com
>> ajplus.net
>> www.everylayer.com
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Ahmed Maawy
> Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO)
> Ambassador - Open Knowledge
> Director - Startup Grind Mombasa
> Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer
> (KE) +254 714 960 627
> Skype: ultimateprogramer
> 
> swahilibox.co.ke
> www.okfn.org
> startupgrind.com
> ajplus.net
> www.everylayer.com
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