Author: N/A
Publisher: Information Week
Publication Year: 2018
Summary: The following article emphasizes the power that data scientists hold when addressing ethics, as many big companies employ them to create impactful algorithms and recommendations. Specifically, data scientists must fairly represent any community that will be affected by their work in their data. The article outlines 3 reasons why diversity is crucial to ethical data science. The first reason, “Diversity enables better representation of the broader population.” This means having a population of data scientists that reflects the world that we live in, in regards to all demographics. Secondly, “Diversity improves the products and services we create.” When products and services reflect a more diverse population, they are able to reach more people, meaning more customers and more revenue. Even from a purely financial standpoint, improving diversity has benefits. In addition to financial benefits, the article includes a third motivation, “Diversity helps counter algorithmic violence.” Data has potential for impactful change, both good and bad. Diversity can help to swing this impact in a positive direction. The article says it best, “A fairer society, better products and services, and the prevention of harm to the most vulnerable among us: All of these and more can be brought about if we as an industry make a commitment to hiring and cultivating diverse talent in data science.”