As Data Overflows Online, Researchers Grapple With Ethics

nytimes.com

16 points·dalek2point3··5 comments

July 2014 conversation on "social audits" of algorithms, at Harvard's Berkman Center: http://civic.mit.edu/blog/natematias/uncovering-algorithms-l...

Edit: Historical visions of the boundaries between emerging science and ethics: Some Thoughts on Ethics and Science Fiction, http://spectacle.org/396/scifi/pavlac.html

Professor Hancock who authored the study has his PhD according to his faculty info on Cornell's web site: http://infosci.cornell.edu/faculty/jeffrey-hancock

Why does the article keep referring to him as Professor instead of Doctor?

In the United States, Professor is a correct formal title for a university professor with a PhD.

While some would say the risks of the Facebook study were obvious, Professor Hancock said the researchers did not realize that manipulating the news feed, even modestly, would make some people feel violated.

I have to call bullshit on this. The whole point of the study was to see how their emotional state would be affected. Prior to this, no one would have expected to be "experimented" on while using a consumer web product.

You don't have to "call bullshit". The text you quote can be better understood as saying that facebook should have known that if users found out they were being manipulated, they would feel violated. This is indeed what happened.

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