Eugenics is more than a failed social movement that drives debunked and outdated race science. Eugenics was and remains a collection of beliefs that persist throughout our societies, undergird our scientific inquiry, and shape our public policy, as well as our interpersonal relationships. In this chapter, I discuss the history of eugenics, its particular focus on disability, and its continued legacy in contemporary social movements and personal beliefs. I begin with a story exemplifying how computing culture has developed hostility toward the idea of ethical responsibility. Then, I discuss the origins of the eugenics movement, the field of statistics, and its connection to the algorithms that run various AI systems. Next, I summarize the component movements behind what Gebru and Torres call the TESCREAL Bundle—the various political orientations held by the tech industry’s primary funders. Finally, I return to the personal frame with a discussion of metaeugenics—the internalized beliefs that drive eugenic behaviors at the personal, interpersonal, and political levels. From this discussion, I prepare readers to critically evaluate the motivations and consequences of the emerging and pervasive AI systems that claim to sell us a utopia while sustaining personal and environmental devastation.

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AI’s Eugenic Legacies, Our Disabled Future

  • Rua M. Williams

摘要

Eugenics is more than a failed social movement that drives debunked and outdated race science. Eugenics was and remains a collection of beliefs that persist throughout our societies, undergird our scientific inquiry, and shape our public policy, as well as our interpersonal relationships. In this chapter, I discuss the history of eugenics, its particular focus on disability, and its continued legacy in contemporary social movements and personal beliefs. I begin with a story exemplifying how computing culture has developed hostility toward the idea of ethical responsibility. Then, I discuss the origins of the eugenics movement, the field of statistics, and its connection to the algorithms that run various AI systems. Next, I summarize the component movements behind what Gebru and Torres call the TESCREAL Bundle—the various political orientations held by the tech industry’s primary funders. Finally, I return to the personal frame with a discussion of metaeugenics—the internalized beliefs that drive eugenic behaviors at the personal, interpersonal, and political levels. From this discussion, I prepare readers to critically evaluate the motivations and consequences of the emerging and pervasive AI systems that claim to sell us a utopia while sustaining personal and environmental devastation.