Discriminatory ads are no joke – they exclude people based not only on their race, gender and sexual orientation, but on a number of other factors as well. In an ideal world, advertising would create opportunities for people from all backgrounds, but unfortunately, that’s not often the case. To do its part in fighting against discriminatory ads, Facebook plans to apply an AI algorithm that will act as a review system for controversial ads.
According to Facebook, the company has been meeting with policymakers and civil rights leaders over the past several months, all in order to improve its enforcement “while preserving the beneficial uses of our advertising tools”. To do this, Facebook plans to apply an automated system that uses machine learning to identify discriminatory ads.
To be more specific, the company explains that they heard concerns that discriminatory ads can deprive people of certain opportunities and experiences, “particularly in the areas of housing, employment and credit, where certain groups historically have faced discrimination.” For this reason, the job of the new algorithm will be to identify ads that offer housing, employment or credit opportunities, so that Facebook can more quickly respond to violations of their policy.
Reference:
Digital Trends (http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/faceook-ad-policies-discrimination/)
The Wonderful World of Algorithms 