203: The Politics of AI Bias - Tracey Spicer

The Politics of Everything

203 The Politics of AI Bias Tracey Spicer

Having been an early guest on this podcast back in 2017 when her book The Good Girl Stripped Bare was released, I am excited to welcome back Tracey Spicer AM. For anyone wanting a recap, Tracey is a multiple Walkley Award-winning author, journalist, and broadcaster who has anchored national programs for ABC TV and radio, Network Ten, and Sky News.

The inaugural national convenor of Women in Media, Tracey is one of the most sought-after keynote speakers and emcees in Australia. In 2019 she was named the NSW Premier’s Woman of the Year, accepted the Sydney Peace Prize alongside Tarana Burke for the MeToo movement, and won the national award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership through Women & Leadership Australia. The ABC highlighted Tracey’s #metoo work in the three-part documentary series Silent No More, which featured the stories of hidden survivors.

In 2018, Tracey was chosen as one of the Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence, winning the Social Enterprise and Not-For-Profit category. For her 30 years of media and charity work, Tracey has been awarded the Order of Australia.

Highlights of her career include writing, producing and presenting documentaries on women and girls in Bangladesh, Kenya, Uganda, Papua New Guinea and India. She is an Ambassador for ActionAid, the Ethnic Business Awards and Purple Our World, and Patron of the Pancreatic Cancer Alliance.

Her newest book, Man-Made: How the bias of the past is being built into the future was released in May 2023. Today we are discussing the world of AI and its biases. Welcome back to The Politics of Everything, Tracey. And before we kick off, note this episode does touch on issues such as coercive control and listener discretion is advised.

Some of what chat about includes:

1. How has AI and a new era of feminism become intertwined from your perspective?

2. The Algorithmic Justice League (AJL) says at the very least we should demand inclusive product testing and the regulation of auditing systems - but neither Meta nor Twitter is there yet. Are we too late on this?

3. We know popular tools like ChatGPT have limits and biases, largely gender-related and in my experience in playing with it spits out more American-centric case studies, and ways of structuring content. Is women are over 50% of the population and hence prolific users, why is this happening?

4. Artificial intelligence has been around for years and is not just for sci-fi buffs or tech types– we maybe just accepted it or didn’t realise it’s everyday power in say use of chat bots for online services like banking or streaming services. The conversation is definitely shifting to how we manage AI and ensure we don’t lose all power to the tech giants. Are there some ways you can see this happening so it’s not all doom and gloom?

5. Takeaway: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of AI Bias?

Tracey can be found online via:

LinkedIn: (14) Tracey Spicer AM GAICD | LinkedIn

Instagram: @TraceySpicer

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