Google Announces Racial Bias Change – New Tool Involved
(DailyVantage.com) – Google is continually evolving its technology, attempting to make its products more inclusive. Its most recent update involves an expanded color palette that will replace the Fitzpatrick Skin Type Scale, which includes six shades. The move has some raising concerns.
On Wednesday, May 11, Google announced its intention to improve skin color representation across its products. Dr. Ellis Monk, a Harvard University sociologist, created this new palette, called the Monk Skin Tone Scale. One major reason for replacing the Fitzpatrick scale is its so-called “bias” towards darker-skinned people by underrepresenting them.
According to Google, “the MST Scale will help us and [other tech companies] build more representative data sets.” The company plans to put the palette into effect over the coming months. Still, it isn’t a foolproof replacement for the Fitzpatrick scale.
Tulsee Doshi, head of products for Google’s responsible artificial intelligence (AI) team, praised the rollout but cautioned it could still cause problems if Google lacks sufficient data or if different lighting types or even errors in human judgment affect the colors.
How do you feel about this upcoming change? Is it proof that AI will someday hold its own racial bias, or is it just a better way to make Google’s platform more inclusive?
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