In this interview, Ben Shneiderman mentions FAT ML—Fair, Accountable, and Transparent Machine Learning. With the years that have passed since the interview was conducted in 2018, I believe we have moved farther from this ideal. The rapid release of large and complex models, especially in generative AI, has outpaced efforts to ensure fairness, accountability, and transparency. As society becomes increasingly reliant on AI, tech companies remain reluctant to share information about how their models work, causing many of them to remain "black boxes." As AI becomes more embedded in high-stakes industries like finance, criminal justice, and healthcare, it is crucial to revisit Shneiderman’s message and ensure AI is used as a tool to improve our lives—but only to the extent that we can understand how it operates.
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