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We Won an “Anti-Discrimination in AI” Hackathon….Now What?!
Back in November 2020, I was supposed to do a Keynote during a 3-day Hackathon hosted by the Dutch Government. The keynote was focussed on finding synergy between humans and technology, a perfect fit for the Hackathon which evolved around anti-discrimination in algorithms. The event was to take place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and accommodations were included. However, the pandemic forced the organizer's hand as restrictions were increased and the event moved from offline to online. This meant the schedule changed as well, eliminating 2 of the total 5 speakers. Instead, I was asked to participate as my job evolves around similar subjects. I do not regret saying YES to that invitation.
Coming up with an idea
On day one I was introduced to the team I would be working with. We did a brief introduction round and attended the kick-off session for the Hackathon. We got the tools, canvasses and were assigned a coach. After getting a schedule with deadlines and milestones, we dove right into the problem statement. Step one: What are we trying to solve?
The basic problem statement that was written by the organization revolved around finding a way to eliminate gender discrimination in algorithms during the recruitment process.
