Why software engineers should be taught human rights law besides technology Noor Arora
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is finding its way into more and more aspects of our daily lives. It powers the smart assistants on our mobile phones and virtual “home assistants”. It is in the algorithms designed to improve our health diagnostics. And it is used in the predictive policing tools used by the police to fight crime. Each of these examples throws up potential problems when it comes to the protection of our human rights. Predictive policing, if not correctly designed, can lead to discrimination based on race, gender or ethnicity. Privacy and data protection rules apply to information related to our health. Similarly, systematic recording and use of our smartphones’ geographical location may breach privacy and data protection rules and it could lead to concerns over digital surveillance by public authorities. Software engineers are responsible for the design of the algorithms behind all of these systems. It is the software engineers who enable smart assistants to answer our questions more accurately, help doctors to improve the detection of health risks, and allow police officers to better identify pockets of rising crime risks.
ARTICLE SOURCE: BS