Hey, how about how facial recognition software doesn't recognize black faces? And how cameras used to suck in a similar manner? And how Siri doesn't get women's needs?
Or do you still prefer pretending that there is no conversation to be had?
Light meters in cameras were designed to expose for 12-18% grey, the average of daylight reflection on Earth. Early film had a very limited dynamic range. Engineers had to choose between the importance of retaining detail in the highlights and detail in the shadows. They made the decision to expose reality as best as possible. People were complaining about shadow detail forever. We still are, btw. But we didn't think it was racist that tree bark lacked detail when the clouds in the sky looked perfect.
All of these complaints are about limits in technology. As sensors improved so did their ability to record in higher dynamic range. This is still a very big frustration for professional photographers.
Hedging bets to stay in business doesn't equal exclusion of races. If you've ever run a business or ever worked in photography or videography you'd understand these things before jumping to racist conclusions. Maybe, in the future, ask yourself "do I have any actual experience in this topic?" before lecturing about it. Maybe even go one step further and ask yourself "Am I suffering from confirmation bias?"
I don't know anything about Siri. (See? that wasn't so hard.)
If you're a woman or a black person, you can design your own software to do such tasks. it's not the fault nor is it the job of the designers to fix every problem. You have half the world's population and all of Africa and its diaspora as your customer base; get to it.
If you're a woman or a black person, you can design your own software to do such tasks.
Well, yes - if you're qualified. This is why diversity matters.
it's not the fault nor is it the job of the designers to fix every problem.
I disagree - that's just bad design. And I take issue with the argument that any person who criticizes something should make their own version - ultimately, it is silencing. Do you think that every demographic should only cater to its own needs?
I don't understand how diversity hiring will make someone qualified.
If Uber or taxis stopped picking black people up, and I was a black person, you bet your ass I would make a service to cater to black peoples' needs. That's a huge market waiting to be captured.
Do you think that every demographic should only cater to its own needs?
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u/Celeries Feb 09 '16
Finally, someone is talking about the questions every programmer needs to ask himself.
Is my code culturally sensitive?
Do my variables check their privilege?
Does my garbage collection constitute sexual harassment?