We are wary of Artificial Intelligences for all the wrong reasons. The chance of one of them taking control of the world, as in a Hollywood movie, is thin, but they can still hurt large chunks of the humankind (i.e. women) or minorities (according to ethnicity, sexual preferences and so on) through the so-called algorithmic bias.

Luca Trevisan, professor of Computer Science at Bocconi University, Milan, clarifies how Machine Learning (a type of Artificial Intelligence) can perpetuate societal bias or prove so ineffective in dealing with minorities to practically discriminate against them.

“The use of Machine Learning systems may seem limited for now,” Prof. Trevisan says to host Catherine De Vries, “but their rate of adoption is increasing at an exponential rate, and we must tackle the issue as soon as possible. To this end, we need a multidisciplinary effort including computer scientists, mathematicians, political scientists, lawyers, and other scientists.”