I do! When it seems readable and useful, and I
know that it exists. And
when I have something riding on the outcome. - J
On Mon, Jul 10, 2017 at 10:50 AM, Deborah Tankersley <
dtankersley(a)wikimedia.org> wrote:
Detailed, readable documentation (which is
accessible directly from the
> search interface)
Yup, totally agree. But, in real life, who reads the documentation
anyway? ;)
--
deb tankersley
irc: debt
Product Manager, Discovery
Wikimedia Foundation
On Mon, Jul 10, 2017 at 11:21 AM, Jonathan Morgan <
jmorgan(a)wikimedia.org> wrote:
> When I read this article, I wasn't struck that the author was saying
> she thought that technology "owed" her particular results.
>
> I think the point she's making is that so much of our life now is
> mediated by algorithms that make choices we may not understand, and that
> impacts how we see the world in ways we can't easily anticipate or account
> for (supporting quotes below). And the problem is subtler and more
> pervasive than simply issues of "filter bubbles" and "fake news"
that are
> currently garnering the biggest headlines.
>
> This is part of a broader conversation that happening right now around
> algorithmic transparency and "ethical AI". Lots and lots of big names are
> weighing in on the topic[1][2][3][4][5][6].
>
> I haven't see a whole lot of specific design guidance around how to
> support transparency in the context of search yet, but I'd be interested in
> hearing from others who have. Detailed, readable documentation (which is
> accessible directly from the search interface) sounds like a pretty good
> start :)
>
> - Jonathan
>
>
>
>
>
> *"I am still not accustomed to the drastic ways search algorithms can
> direct people’s lives. We’re so used to Google’s suggested spellings and
> the autocorrect of texting apps that we’ve stopped thinking too hard about
> how we search or how we spell. If I tap out Chrissy but should have typed
> Krissy, I implicitly believe that of course the opaque algorithms of
> Facebook will intuit my intent. But we have no way of probing the limits of
> the algorithms that govern our lives.""When we talk about the algorithms
> that drive sites like Google and Facebook, we marvel at their cleverness in
> serving us information, or we worry about the ways in which they exacerbate
> bias—profiling people based on gross data trends, for example, to decide
> who gets a loan and who doesn’t. But there is a complex web of algorithmic
> life-shaping at work that we barely register. It’s not that I wish Facebook
> treated its Cs and Ks alike. It’s that by not knowing the rules, we give up
> some agency to mathematical calculations."*
>
> 1.
https://www.acm.org/binaries/content/assets/public-policy
> /2017_usacm_statement_algorithms.pdf
> 2.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2908372/the-ftc-is-worried
> -about-algorithmic-transparency-and-you-should-be-too.html
> 3.
http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/02/08/theme-7-the-need-gr
> ows-for-algorithmic-literacy-transparency-and-oversight/
> 4.
https://epic.org/algorithmic-transparency/
> 5.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603915/tech-giants-gra
> pple-with-the-ethical-concerns-raised-by-the-ai-boom/
> 6.
https://cyber.harvard.edu/research/ai
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 10, 2017 at 9:04 AM, Trey Jones <tjones(a)wikimedia.org>
> wrote:
>
>> Thanks for sharing, Chris!
>>
>> I found the article a bit frustrating. As a human interest story,
>> it's very touching that the sisters were able to reconnect despite family
>> problems that worked to keep them apart.
>>
>> But from the technology side of things, blaming search algorithms
>> seems odd to me. I'm surprised that anyone would feel that technology owed
>> them particular results or specific capabilities—especially capabilities
>> they didn't even know they needed. That might actually be a useful insight
>> into our own users, though.
>>
>> I'm also surprised the author didn't use anything other than search
>> engines and social media. I've had to track down a dozen or so people who
>> were out of touch for up to 20+ years, for a book project, and there are so
>> many resources out there! Even more if you are able to spend a few dollars
>> per person—which "book project people" did not warrant, but siblings
would.
>>
>> So, getting a bit more on-topic, how do we help people by not only
>> providing them with useful information, but also the tools and processes
>> that allow them to get the most from that information? It seems like
>> documentation works for very sophisticated users, but the rest have to
>> collectively and very unevenly accrete familiarity with tools over time;
>> learning/teaching processes seems even more daunting. I can't see a way to
>> accelerate that process, which is disheartening.
>>
>> —Trey
>>
>> Trey Jones
>> Software Engineer, Discovery
>> Wikimedia Foundation
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jul 10, 2017 at 10:33 AM, Chris Koerner <
>> ckoerner(a)wikimedia.org> wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks to Erica Litrenta for sharing this with me. I thought I'd
>>> share if forward.
>>>
>>> "It was because of the letter K that I found my younger sister, but
>>> for 14 years, it was also the letter K that kept us apart."
>>>
>>>
https://www.wired.com/story/search-algorithms-kept-me-from-m
>>> y-sister-for-14-years
>>>
>>> Yours,
>>> Chris Koerner
>>> Community Liaison
>>> Wikimedia Foundation
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> discovery mailing list
>>> discovery(a)lists.wikimedia.org
>>>
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/discovery
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> discovery mailing list
>> discovery(a)lists.wikimedia.org
>>
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/discovery
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Jonathan T. Morgan
> Senior Design Researcher
> Wikimedia Foundation
> User:Jmorgan (WMF)
> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jmorgan_(WMF)>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> discovery mailing list
> discovery(a)lists.wikimedia.org
>
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/discovery
>
>
_______________________________________________
discovery mailing list
discovery(a)lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/discovery
--
Jonathan T. Morgan
Senior Design Researcher
Wikimedia Foundation
User:Jmorgan (WMF) <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jmorgan_(WMF)>
_______________________________________________
discovery mailing list
discovery(a)lists.wikimedia.org