1. What is big data and analytics?
Big data is the vast amounts of information that companies now can collect and process using advanced technological systems. These data can come from within your company or from customers, and the market. Examples include customer’s purchase data from retail stores and internet search results. Big data is collected in order to predict and look into the behavior patterns of customers. For example for designers, big data and analytics are used to know which type of ad will obtain more clicks and the best location for your website to place a banner. Then, analytics is the use of statistics to extract meaning from data in order to improve decision making. As long as companies are able to continue their business ethically then they will always be one step further than their competitors in the long run.
2. How is ethics related to your interaction design work?
In my interaction design work, ethics plays a role because we are the ones choosing what data to display and which ones to hide. Sometimes we end up being selective with the data we collect which will eventually support our opinion and biases. These decisions are very important since they could affect the user to leave and delete the app. With the availability of big data and analytics, it’s important to make the right decisions for the user.
3. Examples of unethical design practices.
I think an example of unethical design practice is Google Duplex. Google Duplex is an AI platform of Google Assistant that places calls or takes calls on your behalf without disclosing that it’s a bot to the other person on the line. The automated system is designed to sound just like a human would when they are speaking on the phone such as adding “uums’’ and “aahs”. The problem here is deception. Google is using AI to mimic and imitate how humans speak which results in deceiving the person on the other line.(Grimsley) There have been many ethical questions for the uses of AI in the future and Google's Duplex is one example. It's definitely more comfortable and pleasant to talk to a human being in terms of interaction so the ability to make an AI more human-sounding is great but why can't the AI disclose that it's an AI that the person is speaking to. It's difficult to accept this because we are unable to trust talking to an AI and it's a fairly new concept. We should be able to apply the same rightful ethics such as honesty and trustworthiness of human interaction into the interactions with AI. If the use of AI is done for the right reasons then people could potentially get used to it over time.
Also, another example is logo design. If you're using someone else's logo without legal permission to do so or acknowledging the original creator then it's considered unethical. You will be running into serious issues such as copyright infringement and plagiarism which could potentially hurt your brand in the long run.
Citations:
Grimsley, Paul. “Google's Duplex Is On The Line.” Buzzazz Advertising & Marketing Agency, 27 June 2018, buzzazz.com/advertising-and-marketing/technology/googles-duplex-line/.
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