The first time I saw a Bitstrips comic in my Facebook news feed I was intrigued and even a bit entertained. At first I thought it was a link to a funny comic on a website or something. I didn’t look into it I didn’t care enough. Then I started seeing more. Then it got to the point where I couldn’t look at my news feed without being bombarded by groan-inducing amature comics. It was then I decided I need to block Bitstrips.
If you want to take back your news feed and block Bitstrips, or any other annoying Facebook apps, you can do so quite easily. An amusing post by Buzzfeed’s Aibhe Malone explains the process quite well. Got a Bitstrip in front of you now? Click the arrow in the top-right corner of the comic and click “Hide all from Bitstrips.” If that isn’t an option you can head to the Blocking section of your Account Settings and enter the name of your hated app in the Block Apps field. You’re welcome.
Block Bitstrips from your Facebook account settings.
See any other friends groaning at horrible comics? Make sure to share this tidbit with them.
Technology has taken a vantage leap in providing solutions for man. Before now, technology used to appear complex and would require a great deal of expertise to handle solutions available. Today, we have technology applicable in the simplest human activities as smart products with intelligent algorithms powering them as they make error-free judgments and provide intelligent and analytic solutions.
Does technology have all the answers?
This article from Credit Suisse, tells us that technology does not have all the answers because it has been found to exhibit “similar biases,” as humans. No one can discredit the impact of technology, but it is not totally free of human input and this is the reason we experience these biases in many areas we have technology holding foot.
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Creating technological solutions transparently
This article suggests that the process of creating technological solutions be made transparent and subject to contribution from many people who would end up as users of the product – male, female, young, old, learned, unlearned and all other preferences as we have them. It also underscores the importance of having women on product development teams. This approach is not sure to eliminate all forms of bias, but it is a good way to start in order to appraise the full benefits of technology.
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Technology as the connecting tool
Technology so far has been a major connecting tool amongst us humans. It is used and appreciated by all regardless of race, language and sex. In order to keep it less subjective to these arguments about human biases. I believe we should gather opinions on products and solutions before making them available to the public. This could be done by gathering input from intended target users and receiving feedback across the stages of production.
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“Recognizing the problem is a start…success will depend on inclusive technologies that meet this vast untapped market.” This cannot be more apt especially at a time when we look up to technology for solutions. We should not muzzle our progress with technology by battling algorithm bias. The first way to avoid this battle is by reading this article here.
