[kictanet] Is Facebook biased on its newsfeed?

Thu May 12 18:52:47 EAT 2016

My thoughts were best captured here
https://stratechery.com/2016/the-real-problem-with-facebook-and-the-news/

Sidney

Touched not typed from my Infinix Z3
On 12 May 2016 18:37, "Ali Hussein via kictanet" <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> 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:
>>>
>>>    1. 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).
>>>    2. 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:
>>>       1. Either content producers are not building influence better
>>>       than those who rank at the top. Or
>>>       2. 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 <http://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
>>>> <http://link.fortune.com/click/6706588.20757/aHR0cDovL3RlY2hjcnVuY2guY29tLzIwMTQvMDEvMTYvZmFjZWJvb2stdHJlbmRpbmcv/55ba80258cc2b2e72d8b457aBf20eece1>—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
>>>> profiled
>>>> <http://link.fortune.com/click/6706588.20757/aHR0cDovL2dpem1vZG8uY29tL3dhbnQtdG8ta25vdy13aGF0LWZhY2Vib29rLXJlYWxseS10aGlua3Mtb2Ytam91cm5hbGlzdHMtMTc3MzkxNjExNw/55ba80258cc2b2e72d8b457aB4ee70a20>a
>>>> 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
>>>> <http://link.fortune.com/click/6706588.20757/aHR0cDovL2dpem1vZG8uY29tL2Zvcm1lci1mYWNlYm9vay13b3JrZXJzLXdlLXJvdXRpbmVseS1zdXBwcmVzc2VkLWNvbnNlci0xNzc1NDYxMDA2/55ba80258cc2b2e72d8b457aBf141c2b3> 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
>>>> <http://link.fortune.com/click/6706588.20757/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFjZWJvb2suY29tL3RzdG9ja3kvcG9zdHMvMTAxMDA4NTMwODIzMzc5NTg/55ba80258cc2b2e72d8b457aBf49ae890> 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
>>>> <http://link.fortune.com/click/6706588.20757/aHR0cDovL2dpem1vZG8uY29tL3NlbmF0ZS1nb3AtbGF1bmNoZXMtaW5xdWlyeS1pbnRvLWZhY2Vib29rLXMtbmV3cy1jdXJhdGktMTc3NTc2NzAxOA/55ba80258cc2b2e72d8b457aB1d911177> 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
>>>> <http://link.fortune.com/click/6706588.20757/aHR0cDovL3d3dy52b3guY29tLzIwMTYvNS8xMC8xMTY0MDE0MC9mYWNlYm9vay1tZWRpYS1pbmZsdWVuY2U/55ba80258cc2b2e72d8b457aBca65e309> 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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>>>>
>>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
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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 <http://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 <http://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 <http://okfn.org/>
> startupgrind.com
> ajplus.net
> www.everylayer.com
>
>
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>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/sidney.ochieng%40gmail.com
>
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>
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