Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Bias in AI?

AI itself isn't biased, since it doesn't really have consciousness and judgement. It just uses data. 

It goes without saying that we need to avoid feeding it biased data but, even accurate data can lead to conclusions we don't want. For example, if there aren't a lot of minority or women candidates in a certain tech field, the AI might conclude that it's an undesirable trait.

To counter that, we might actually have to add bias into the system. For example, pre-add weight for underrepresented groups in tech. I guess, sort of how bookmakers set odds so that all bets don't just go to the favored sports team.

© 2022 Praveen Puri

Arming Teachers?

I'm not saying it's the best way but, if a local government insists on arming teachers, I think they shouldn't do it haphazardly:

1. Choose a body, such as the state police, to design and run the program.

2. A small group of volunteers from teachers/staff are vetted and receive special training.

3. The state police are responsible for maintaining the guns, which are secured in certain locations of the school, along with a bright ID vest which identifies them to students and responding police.

4. At any time, some of the volunteers are "on call" and have keys.


© 2022 Praveen Puri

Monday, June 13, 2022

Unnecessary Tech: Digital License Plates

Example of an unnecessary tech product looking for a market:  Michigan has become the latest state to approve Reviver digital car plates.  

Today, you have simple metal plates. You pay a yearly fee and you get a yearly sticker to put on. Simple.

With this, you get a digital display that has toxic substances, uses power, you need to also pay a monthly subscription to the company, they can display messages, and you can be tracked. Not to mention, what if it gets hacked?

So, for an investment of time and money, you get an environmentally unfriendly, more complicated, security risk that duplicates the low tech you currently have. That's not Strategic Simplicity® .

© 2022 Praveen Puri

Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Bumble Bees are fish!

I saw an article in today's WSJ that, in CA, farmers sued to block bumble bees from being added to the state's endangered species list because it just covers "bird, mammal, fish, amphibia, or reptile."  

Well, the fish and game commission appealed and a state appeals court ruled that bumble bees qualify as "fish" under the CA legislation's legal definition of fish, which is very vague (basically, no backbone).  

You can't make this stuff up!

© 2022 Praveen Puri