Coded Bias

Will get the criticisms out of the way first, because by and large this was a really well-made documentary.

It's minor, but wasn't sure why some interviewees were framed with so much headroom. Then again, Mr Robot did that and I never understood it there, and given that that was also concerned with themes of technology and surveillance, maybe there's some shared symbolism I'm not picking up on.

Some of the segments with the AI saying menacing things were a little cheesy, but overall brief at least.

There's also a sense that the documentary may cover a little too much in its 85-minute runtime. While I can admire its ambition in covering so many aspects of facial recognition software, its racial biases, algorithm discrimination, and so on, it does make for a documentary that jumps around a fair bit and not always smoothly... at least all the topics are interesting on their own.

But in the end, it covers important topics and presents compelling arguments about particular flaws and biases in technology. It does warn that this is something that if unchecked could become a serious problem, so I like the attempt to bring awareness to this issue before it completely spirals out of control.

It's well edited, features interesting interviewees and subjects, and ends on a little more hope than I was anticipating, which was a nice surprise. Overall, it's one of the better Netflix documentaries I've watched in a while.

I've heard a lot about the various algorithmic failures around race. This is a good overview of the discussion that talks about some things I haven't seen before. When you see it put all together in one place it's pretty shocking.

At the same time, purely as a documentary this is kind of weak. It's sometimes a little muddled, and it sometimes stretches a point a bit too far. Some of the things it tries to fold into the narrative are less examples of technological racism and more examples of actual criminal behavior. There's a difference between slippery tech and actions that resulted in people going to jail.

Still, it's a compelling film.

Algorithms are not magical systems. At their core they are simply data. Feed your programs with rubbish or incomplete data sets, and you'll get rubbish or inaccurate outputs. What surprises me is not that this is happening with programs like facial recognition software; what surprises me is that the basics taught in any beginning programming class are somehow forgotten.

That said, this documentary feels incomplete. It seems to be one-sided, with lots of interviews with people who are against the use of AI.

But while the film-makers do an ok job of highlighting the dangers and inadequacies of AI systems such as facial recognition software, they failed to show what really is behind these glaring.blunders - was it some kind of knowing omission meant to create more biases, was it a case of software engineers creating something that they themselves don't understand and thus making a mess of things, or was it simply incompetence.on the part of many involved?

Who knows. And that's the problem with this film.

Only flaw is that it didn't come out earlier than 2020. It's a must-watch if you have a brain in your skull, ignore all the babynazis flooding the reviews with their abominable screeching.

Does it matter to any of the reviewers here that the claims made in this documentary have been debunked?

Fact: The darker ones complexation is the LESS likely that there is usable video or photos for investigators or prosecutors.

The makers of this film claim the opposite is the case, they claim there is a bias against persons with darker complexions -- when in fact that is not at all what the peer reviewed research shows.