scholarly journals AI audits for assessing design logics and building ethical systems: the case of predictive policing algorithms

AI and Ethics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Ugwudike
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Foundation ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Predictive Policing ◽  
Specific Input ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
Ai Ethics ◽  
Ethical Systems

AbstractOrganisations, governments, institutions and others across several jurisdictions are using AI systems for a constellation of high-stakes decisions that pose implications for human rights and civil liberties. But a fast-growing multidisciplinary scholarship on AI bias is currently documenting problems such as the discriminatory labelling and surveillance of historically marginalised subgroups. One of the ways in which AI systems generate such downstream outcomes is through their inputs. This paper focuses on a specific input dynamic which is the theoretical foundation that informs the design, operation, and outputs of such systems. The paper uses the set of technologies known as predictive policing algorithms as a case example to illustrate how theoretical assumptions can pose adverse social consequences and should therefore be systematically evaluated during audits if the objective is to detect unknown risks, avoid AI harms, and build ethical systems. In its analysis of these issues, the paper adds a new dimension to the literature on AI ethics and audits by investigating algorithmic impact in the context of underpinning theory. In doing so, the paper provides insights that can usefully inform auditing policy and practice instituted by relevant stakeholders including the developers, vendors, and procurers of AI systems as well as independent auditors.

scholarly journals “The Computer Said So”: On the Ethics, Effectiveness, and Cultural Techniques of Predictive Policing

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630511876829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tero Karppi
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Hot Spots ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Human Agency ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Individual Behaviour ◽  
Predictive Policing ◽  
Human Control ◽  
Use Of Data ◽  
Computational Aspects

In this paper, I use The New York Times’ debate titled, “Can predictive policing be ethical and effective?” to examine what are seen as the key operations of predictive policing and what impacts they might have in our current culture and society. The debate is substantially focused on the ethics and effectiveness of the computational aspects of predictive policing including the use of data and algorithms to predict individual behaviour or to identify hot spots where crimes might happen. The debate illustrates both the benefits and the problems of using these techniques, and makes a strong stance in favor of human control and governance over predictive policing. Cultural techniques in the paper is used as a framework to discuss human agency and further elaborate how predictive policing is based on operations which have ethical, epistemological, and social consequences.

scholarly journals Science teachers’ data use practices: A descriptive analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia Snodgrass Rangel ◽  
Carlos Monroy ◽  
Elizabeth Bell
Keyword(s):  
Science Teachers ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Science Achievement ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Data Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
High Stakes

There is a debate on students’ low science achievement in the United States, particularly among low income, African American students, and Latino students. An important part of the education community’s response to low achievement generally and in science specifically has been the implementation of high stakes accountability policies. Because of accountability’s emphasis on educator data use, much research has examined different facets of it throughout educational organizations, but research has not focused on the extent to which data use might be content-specific. The purpose of this paper, then, was to investigate the data use practices of science teachers. Drawing from a broader study of science teachers in grades 5-8 across six school districts, this study reports results from teacher surveys and interviews. The findings indicate that while there were examples of science-specific data use, most of the science teachers used data in ways consistent with previous content-agnostic research. Implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed. 

scholarly journals Troubling the master narrative of “grit”: Counterstories of Black and Latinx Students with dis/abilities during an era of “high-stakes” testing

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adai Tefera ◽  
David Hernández Saca ◽  
Ashlee Lester
Keyword(s):  
Student Voice ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Victim Blaming ◽  
Master Narrative ◽  
Exit Exam ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
High School Exit Exam ◽  
Educational Culture

In this study we trouble the notion of “grit” and “high-stakes” testing by focusing on the experiences and perspectives of Black and Latinx students labeled with dis/abilities with the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). Through interviews, focus groups, and classroom observations with 15 Black and Latinx students labeled with dis/abilities, we utilize the power of student voice and counterstories to problematize the master narrative of a “grit”/no “grit” binary in education policy discourse. This binary has contributed to an educational culture that reinforces victim blaming, reifies inequities for Black and Latinx students with dis/abilities, and undermines students’ emotional wellbeing. Harnessing the power of the students’ experiences and perspectives, we conclude with recommendations for policy and practice.

Opting Out of the Education Reform Industry

2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (10) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne Au ◽  
Jesslyn Hollar
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Education Industry ◽  
Education Market ◽  
K 12

Big business has long been enamored of public education. Whether shaping systems of schooling along the lines of factory production, dictating what children should learn, or cultivating private-public partnerships to gain access to government monies, corporations and their owners have insisted on being key players in the formation of education policy and practice in the United States. Analysts estimate the value of the K-12 education market at more than $700 billion dollars. Beyond their calls for students and workers to adapt to the global capitalist economy through increased competition and "accountability" in public schools, business leaders crave access to a publicly funded, potentially lucrative market&mdash;one of the last strongholds of the commons to be penetrated by neoliberalism.&hellip; In an education industry dependent on market competition to increase profitability, there is no better tool to turn teaching and learning into products&mdash;ready to measure, compare, and sell&mdash;than the high-stakes standardized tests championed by the contemporary education reform movement.<p class="mrlink"><p class="mrpurchaselink"><a href="http://monthlyreview.org/index/volume-67-number-10" title="Vol. 67, No. 10: March 2016" target="_self">Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the <em>Monthly Review</em> website.</a></p>

scholarly journals GLOBAL PUBLISHING OPPORTUNITIES IN GERONTOLOGY: A VIEW FROM THE EDITORS' DESKS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S195-S195
Author(s):  
Edward A Miller ◽  
Elizabeth Simpson ◽  
Michael Gusmano
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Cultural Expectations ◽  
Gerontological Research ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
Global Publishing ◽  
Global Aging

Abstract Global aging has proceeded at an unprecedented and accelerating rate. The aging of the population creates both opportunities and challenges for elders, their families, and society in general. Importantly, there is substantial variation in the effects of and response to global aging both within and across nations depending, in part, on prevailing cultural expectations and values, political and economic imperatives, and social and demographic characteristics. Thus, while some regions and countries have responded with innovative policies and programs to better enable the growing cohort of older adults to remain active and engaged in the community, other regions and countries have struggled with their response or barely begun to plan for the rising population of elders. This symposium assembles editors at five leading gerontological journals to demonstrate the role that peer-reviewed scholarship can play in disseminating knowledge that informs gerontological research, policy, and practice internationally. Editors include: Jeffrey Burr, PhD, Research on Aging; Deborah Carr, PhD, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences; Edward Alan Miller, PhD, Journal of Aging & Social Policy; Julie Hicks Patrick, PhD, International Journal of Aging & Human Development; and Julie Robison, PhD, The Journal of Applied Gerontology. Each presenter will review the scope, content, and focus of their journals and the role and opportunities for international scholarship. Michael Gusmano, PhD, a leading expert on the economic, political, and social consequences of global aging and International Editor of the Journal of Aging & Social Policy, will serve as discussant.

scholarly journals Overcoming obstacles to implementing methadone maintenance therapy for prisoners: Implications for policy and practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle McKenzie, MPH ◽  
Amy Nunn, MS, ScD ◽  
Nickolas D. Zaller, PhD ◽  
Alexander R. Bazazi, BA ◽  
Josiah D. Rich, MD, MPH
Keyword(s):  
Rhode Island ◽  
Methadone Maintenance ◽  
Methadone Treatment ◽  
Work Load ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Correctional System ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
And Control

More than 2.4 million people are currently incarcerated in the United States, many as a result of drugrelated offenses. In addition, more than 200,000 active heroin addicts pass through the correctional system annually. New evidence suggests that both providing prisoners with referrals for community-based methadone programs and providing methadone prior to release reduces recidivism and adverse health and social consequences associated with drug use. This article reports the programmatic challenges associated with initiating methadone treatment in the Rhode Island correctional system. Significant obstacles to implementing methadone treatment include: stigma associated with pharmacological treatment, misconceptions regarding the nature of opioid addiction, logistics of control and storage of methadone, increased work load for nursing staff, and general safety and control concerns. The authors discuss strategies to address these barriers and conclude that providing methadone prior to inmate release is a feasible intervention with the potential to mitigate drugrelated health and social harms.

scholarly journals Left Behind by Policy: A Case Study of the Influence of High Stakes Accountability Policy on Data-Based Decision Making in One Small, Rural New Hampshire School

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda L. Carrier ◽  
Michael Whaland
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Achievement Data ◽  
Small Rural Schools ◽  
Data Based Decision Making

The high-stakes accountability policies that stemmed from NCLB and Race to the Top required minimum group sizes in order for school performance to be analyzed through state accountability formulas. Small rural schools have frequently been left out of this equation due to a lack of consistently reportable aggregate groups and sub-groups. The evidence of this has been seen through the lack of needed data-based decision making (DBDM) practices. In order to begin to understand the DBDM practices of small rural schools and the relationship to educational policy we engaged in case study research of a Pk-12 school of 100 students from 2014-2015. The school, located in New Hampshire, provided us with insights into the potential gaps that exist between policy and practice in small rural schools. In addition, questions of educational equity began to emerge as we considered the gaps between student achievement data and the professional development of educators.

scholarly journals Do Mobile Phone Data Provide a Better Denominator in Crime Rates and Improve Spatiotemporal Predictions of Crime?

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 369
Author(s):  
Anneleen Rummens ◽  
Thom Snaphaan ◽  
Nico Van de Weghe ◽  
Dirk Van den Poel ◽  
Lieven J. R. Pauwels ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Risk Measure ◽  
Crime Rates ◽  
Mobile Phone Data ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Predictive Policing ◽  
Population At Risk ◽  
Residential Population ◽  
Ambient Population

This article assesses whether ambient population is a more suitable population-at-risk measure for crime types with mobile targets than residential population for the purpose of intelligence-led policing applications. Specifically, the potential use of ambient population as a crime rate denominator and predictor for predictive policing models is evaluated, using mobile phone data (with a total of 9,397,473 data points) as a proxy. The results show that ambient population correlates more strongly with crime than residential population. Crime rates based on ambient population designate different problem areas than crime rates based on residential population. The prediction performance of predictive policing models can be improved by using ambient population instead of residential population. These findings support that ambient population is a more suitable population-at-risk measure, as it better reflects the underlying dynamics in spatiotemporal crime trends. Its use has therefore much as-of-yet unused potential not only for criminal research and theory testing, but also for intelligence-led policy and practice.

“In This Miserable Spot Called Quarantine”: The Healthy and Unhealthy in Nineteenth Century Australian and Pacific Quarantine Stations

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krista Maglen
Keyword(s):  
Disease Control ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
The Political ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
History Of Disease ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The Western Pacific

ArgumentBy examining sources created by people who were detained or employed at the quarantine stations of Australia and the Western Pacific, this article illuminates aspects of the history of disease control that cannot be observed in other source material. Most research examining the history of maritime quarantine has tended to rely on the records of official and government agencies. As a result, discussion has largely been confined to government policy and larger issues of the political, economic, and social consequences of maritime disease control. This article contributes to the historiography by examining personal sources that show how quarantine policy and practice were experienced from the perspective of its participants. They reveal the experiences of otherwise obscured healthy detainees and illuminate agency among quarantined individuals that cannot be observed without these sources.

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