fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
The “Women Reclaiming AI (WRAI)” art project
By: Beth Jochim
Tags: Art, Artificial Intelligence, Chatbox, Gender, Bias

The AI Art Corner #8

Beth Jochim, creative AI lead Libre AI and writer; Twitter: @_bblurred

Photo by Daniel Josef on Unsplash

Women Reclaiming AI (WRAI), 2019, is an art project that takes the form of “an AI collaborative voice assistant created by a growing community of self-identifying women”, as we find written on its website.

This is the brainchild of artists and technologists Coral Manton and Birgitte Aga in collaboration with a community of self-identifying women. The intention is to provide this community with a way to make their voices heard in matters of future AI-based technology planning.

Following this idea, conversational AI becomes a means of protesting prejudices and stereotypes that reinforce traditional gender roles and do not represent all the voices and the points of view of people within our society.

On the website of the project, we read that:

“By creating a platform for collective writing and editing, the project co-creates an AI that challenges gender roles.”

The artwork has two components: the first is the voice assistant that is designed by the collective, and the second is an alternative representation of women that evolves over time and is based on images processed by GANs. The GAN uses a dataset of images of women who participated in the project and of women considered very inspirational. This has brought to the creation of an alternative dataset that the group considers more inclusive and representative.

The artists, thus, are redesigning the future for robots, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the audience through the organization of events, workshops and installations in which the theme of bias in technology is treated in an ironic way.

This work is therefore positioned among those that ask us to reflect on the use of technology, underlining how the technology we use every day, even a chatbot, can also have a hidden problematic side.

To listen to the artists in conversation:

To visit the project and try the chatbox:
Three Tech Biases
By: Moa Hammarback
Tags: CSS, Bias, Tech, HTML, JavaScript

It’s now been over a year since i first was introduced to the world of code. I was looking for a new path and luckily i’ve found tjejer kodar and their free four days introduction to code. Before that i had zero experience, but that does not mean that i did not have my own biases against it. Here i will share my three tech biases, and how i feel about them now.

You need to be a genius

To work with code, or even have it as an interest, you must be a genius. You must live and breath math and languages or you will never stand a chance. I clearly do not think like this anymore, and really, how many people are geniuses?

2. It’s a lonely profession

I truly believed this myth that if you work with code you will sit alone, probably in a basement and never interact with other humans again. Looking back i can only laugh, maybe movies should not be consider a source.

Teamwork makes the dream work!

3. Code = Zero creativity

I thought it was a monotonous work where everyday would be just like the day before. If you read this and you work with code, you know how incredibly wrong i was. Now i’m working mostly with the front-end, but i couldn’t before ever imagine how creative, fun and visually rewarding it actually is.
Introducing Amazon SageMaker Clarify — AWS re:Invent 2020
By: Julien Simon
Tags: Explainable Ai, Machine Learning, AWS, Bias, Deep Learning

Amazon SageMaker Clarify is a new capability of Amazon SageMaker that helps customers detect bias in machine learning models, and increase transparency by helping explain model behavior to stakeholders and customers

In this first video, I show how you to use the bias detection capability in Amazon SageMaker Clarify, using bias metrics computed on a credit dataset, and on a classification model trained on this dataset.

In this second video, I show how you to use the model explainability capability in Amazon SageMaker Clarify, using SHAP values computed on a credit model.
https://news.mit.edu/2018/study-finds-gender-skin-type-bias-artificial-intelligence-systems-0212…
By: Erick Hernandez
Tags: AI, Kresge College, Ucsc, Bias

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
BOILERMAKERS
By: Tyler Hebert
Tags: Opinion, Cognition, Bias, Research, Civics

If we make decisions or form opinions about politics / civics, policy, health, finance, investments etc without consulting the primary sources (eg the hearing itself, the law / bill itself, the speech itself, the paper itself, the study itself, the mandate itself, the disclaimer itself, the funding source itself, the 10k itself etc), we are running the risk of missing key information. This is not to say we cannot consult experts or a plethora of pre-formed and easily digestible opinions or soundbites. But if that is what we consistently rely upon to guide our decisions and to motivate our actions and worldview, we are dependent upon those cookie-cutter downloads being accurate, non-biased and seeking to benefit us. What happens when and if that is no longer the case? Some call it falling for the okey-doke, others call it being hoodwinked. Simply put, it is foolish and lazy (not saying it isn’t convenient and sometimes necessary to simply believe what we are told or take it at face value).

The news that is put out is increasingly opinion-based, even news that is not marked as an editorial. After consuming a steady diet of this “information” it is easy to become convinced that reality is a certain way or that “everyone agrees” or that there is only one possible “acceptable viewpoint”. These are all propaganda techniques that have been used again and again throughout history. Proper reporting will acknowledge the facts of the case and where there may be grey area or areas of conflicting opinion. Stories would be left open ended, encouraging the reader to make up his or her mind for themselves or to seek more information.

In an era where that is no longer the case or in which the other side is demonized rather than reviewed, the public will become increasingly polarized as “two sets of facts” seem to emerge on a multitude of issues. The reality is that each side is largely ignoring or not even mentioning a set of facts or a set of contested issues — they are reporting upon that grey zone as if it is already decided because their ideological view of the world wishes it to be so or requires it to be so. One side can clearly see the hypocrisy of the other side but will not acknowledge their own hypocrisy. Even more important than the hypocrisy emerging is the principles of self-discovery, human decency and temperance eroding.

No matter what side of the spectrum (or outside of the spectrum) we find ourselves, I think it would do us all well to ponder more carefully, form opinions more slowly and take more time to gather facts, information and evidence from multiple viewpoints before sticking with the boilerplate.

Make it four boilermakers… it’s been a rough year for the collective.
Rethinking the Resume to Eliminate Bias
Tags: Resume, Discrimination, Bias, Hiring, Job Hunting

Rethinking the Resume to Eliminate Bias

Resumes are critical to positioning yourself for new positions. Yet, they vary widely. With variance, there’s preference. With preference, there’s bias.

If companies can spend ample time A/B testing button colors to optimize conversion rate, you’d be incorrect in believing small differences in resume layout get one qualified person picked over another similarly qualified person.

If I were to redesign resumes, I’d:

eliminate photos

It’s a breeding ground for unconscious and conscious bias.

eliminate names

It’s a breeding ground for unconscious and conscious bias. We all get unique identifier numbers and are emailed when we’ve been selected to move to the next round. At that point, demographic information will become apparent on that phone screen or first-round interview. It might be really uncomfortable to go into an interview not knowing the name, gender, or race of the person you’re going to speak with but I am infinitely more uncomfortable with people being denied access to a position because of their name, gender, or race.

eliminate address, location, and phone number

Where someone currently is doesn’t dictate where they’ll be tomorrow; if they are willing to take the job you’re offering wherever you’re offering it, that’s all that matters

eliminate summaries

Is one page of your entire work experience not enough of a summary? I should be able to scan your resume and come to the same summary without you providing it.

single column, .5 margin, 12 point black Arial font, bolded section names, single-spaced, filled circle bullets

Consistent formatting puts the focus on the content, not the styling. A portfolio can be the opportunity to show off your design skills.

education, professional experience, volunteer experience

Same 3 sections every time, in that order.

No skills section because your skills should be evident through the bullets of each experience.

No interests sections because building rapport and introducing bias are friendly cousins.

No graduation dates or class years because people of any age have what it takes to do the job.

Speaking of eliminating names, eliminating names of the educational institutions and places of employment is something that I could get around because that’s another layer of bias in interpreting how qualified someone is on the coattails of something other than their actual impact and demonstrated skills. Deciding if you’re worth moving forward with based on the names of the places that accepted you in the past creates a pipeline of inaccessibility which I wanted eliminated.
Is Anti-Bias Training Effective in Improving Diversity?
By: Jaymie White
Tags: Bias, Workplace Diversity, Diversity

Anti-bias training started in the U.S. as early as the 1940s and has taken different forms over time. But they all fail to significantly improve workforce diversity. Data showed that the typical diversity program not only fails to promote diversity but actually leads to declines in management diversity. Diversity training that lasts for an hour, a day or a week cannot reduce bias rooted in stereotypes ingrained over a lifetime of exposure to the TV, radio and social media. Some trainings have minimal effect but it does not stick or translate into organizational change. Some anti-bias training even activates biases.

https://suppliertynews.com/2020/11/27/is-anti-bias-training-effective-in-improving-diversity/
My Bias Was “Hidden” In Plain Sight
By: Danell Tenyenhuis Black
Tags: Racism, Prejudice, Bias, Social Justice, Danell Black

Racism

My Bias Was “Hidden” In Plain Sight

I recently reconnected with a former co-worker I’ll call Sandra. I found her when she commented on a political thread I was following. I sent her a friend request, and she commented she was surprised to see me on the democratic side of the political spectrum.

We didn’t have a lot of interaction until I invited Sandra to follow my writer’s page for my blog, My Life After Patrick, on Facebook. This blog is about navigating life after the death of my husband, Patrick. Sandra commented that she remembered his death and how she felt sorry for me. Her next sentence shocked me. “ I remember how I always felt around you like I wasn’t good enough because I was Mexican,” she said.

Her words were shocking and brutal for me to hear. As hard as it was, it was even more problematic when she added that many fellow minority coworkers felt I thought I was superior to them because of my education and status.

I’m not racist because…

My initial thought was they should have known I wasn’t racist because I had minority friends. I resisted the temptation to say this because having minority friends does not mean I am not racist. Not feeling I am racist also does not prove I am not a racist!

If someone perceives I am racist, they are likely picking up on a bias that I hold, either consciously or subconsciously. For example, my parents raised me to believe that success is the result of hard work. I never understood that I had privileges that others did not have. Could this have been the bias that I unconsciously projected?

I grew up in a lower-middle-class family. My parents did not pay for me to go to college. I worked my way through and supplemented with student loans that I later paid off. I believed that this option was available to anyone. I wasn’t aware that standardized tests are normed on white, middle-class students. Although lower-income students may have financial aid available, this doesn’t always cover all expenses, and the additional costs may make college cost-prohibitive for many minorities. This article provides examples of these and other biases.

My beliefs have changed over the last four years. My path from conservative to progressive was a series of life events. I’m a different person than I was four years ago, and I’m able to look at the feedback my coworker gave me in a different light.
Notes from October 2020 Meetup: Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor by Virginia Eubanks
By: Tim G
Tags: UX, Bias

The UX Book Club of Chicago met on Tuesday, October 20 over Zoom to discuss Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor by Virginia Eubanks.

Book Synopsis

The book is about how digital systems are used (or rather mis-used) by government to unfairly treat the people the systems are trying to help. The book has two main parts: the first covers three examples of digital government systems (welfare eligibility homeless intake, and youth services) and the second describes why we should do something about them and what those actions could be.

Discussion Themes

One of the key differences between this book and others reviewed by the UX Book Club is that Automating Inequality focused on systems that replaced people decision making rather than algorithms that operated within applications (e.g., internet search).

The book club discussed the differences regarding access and personal rights between government and commercial systems (social media, dating apps, etc.). In commercial systems, users choose to share personal information. In government systems, the users’ information regarding specific needs (welfare eligibility, homeless person services, and youth services) can be shared among other government systems, notably criminal and judicial systems. That level of sharing generally does not happen between commercial systems since they are owned by different companies.

The goals of government digital systems are a reflection of the goals of the people defining the system, not necessarily the people that are being served by the digital system. For example, if the goal is to reduce the number of people receiving welfare, the system’s design will lead to that outcome. People in the book club discussion thought it was important to have the “proper” metrics to determine the success of the program.

Book club members also thought it was important to be able to easily appeal a decision made by a non-transparent algorithm. Taking the human involvement out of the decision process has made the appeal process more difficult.

We also discussed a point raised in the book regarding the difference between equal treatment and equal value. We thought another way to look at this is the difference between equality and equity. Equality is treating everyone the same way (e.g., flat tax), and equity is treating people as unique individuals (e.g., progressive tax, affirmative action).

Technology and society are changing. The systems that were put in place decades ago may not reflect the way society looks today (e.g., family structure, gender identity). But changing large government digital systems is a complicated and lengthy process.
Racial Bias Is Not Exactly The Same As Racism
By: Floyd Mori
Tags: Asian Americans, Racism, Prejudice, Bias, Injustice

Racial Bias Is Not Exactly The Same As Racism

Photo by James Eades on Unsplash

Racism continues to be a big issue in the United States

Most people will profess to be against racism. Except for openly racist people such as white supremacists, people generally claim that they are not racist. Their actions may appear to prove otherwise. They may have racial bias which causes them to exhibit favoritism to certain groups of people. It is not uncommon to have bias.

Bias means weighing in favor or against an idea, thing, or person. It may be acting closed-minded or unfair toward someone. Biases are normally learned through various experiences or encounters.

Racial prejudices and racial stereotypes are part of bias. People have prejudices against certain types of people because of a preconceived notion they have. For some reason, they have had a feeling or experience which has caused them to feel favor or disfavor with certain groups of people.

People may has biases toward some racial minority groups such as thinking they are lazy or unmotivated. They may think certain groups are not as smart as others. They may have a bias that considers some groups as not being athletic while other groups are. They might think they are better than others because they belong to a privileged race.

There are people who are prejudiced with bias so they make assumptions about different racial groups. They may feel that anyone with a non-Western surname would not have been born in the United States. Asian Americans have been considered by many as “perpetual foreigners” because of their names and facial features. Although they were born in the United States and their families may have been in the country for several generations, they are still looked upon as outsiders.

Biased people make generalizations about entire groups of people. That has happened many times in history against various races within the population of the United States. It has caused racial profiling.

Racial prejudice and racial bias has led to institutional racism. This happened during World War II when an entire segment of the population were labeled as “non-citizens” and “enemy aliens” because they were of Japanese ancestry. The 120,000 people who were forced out of their homes on the West Coast of the continental United States by the U.S. government had done nothing wrong. They were unjustly incarcerated in camps. Most had been born in America and were U.S. citizens. No Japanese American was ever found guilty of espionage during that period although they were all suspected of it. This entire group of people were ostracized because of racial bias and racism.

Racism and racial bias continue to be of huge concern in the United States. People who feel superior and have biases toward other races make life difficult for others. Racism has gone on for far too long. It needs to stop.

[Sources: Wikipedia, The Japanese American Story As Told Through a Collection of Speeches and Articles, www.thejapaneseamericanstory.com]
Knowledge transfer: what Covid-10 has taught us
By: Annette Rolsting
Tags: Media Literacy, Learning, Bias, Decision Making, Knowledge

Knowledge transfer: what Covid-19 has taught us

Living through the Covid-19 pandemic has been a tremendous experience as well as a steep learning curve for all of us. We have learnt a lot but at the same time, we do not seem to have learnt that much at all.

What do I mean by that? Well, the amount of information, knowledge and news that we, as ordinary individuals, have listened to, searched for or discussed has been inmense. Yet, the amount of actual knowledge transfer that may lead to understanding, capacity building and changed behaviour has been challenged or ineffective.

Personally, without having made any research into this, I believe that there are at least 5 (good) reasons for this:

No scientist or politician was an expert on this new type of (Corona) virus Human nature means that we are biased towards or against certain views of the world and what is considered to be right, wrong or trustworthy Unclear and changing communication/instructions The complexity and impact of the pandemic Wery different approaches on how to handle the situation, politically, financially and healthcare-wise

So what has this taught us?

It depends on who you are, what your experiences are and whether or not you agree with my simple analysis.

Overall, however, there is no doubt that the pandemic has taught us that:

It is easy and essential to communicate and follow clear instructions that are easy to implement, eg. washing hands and do social distancing Global and social media is a fantastic source of information and knowledge. But the content and views may be contradicting, difficult to understand and interpret as well as overwhelming (thus, there is need for health and media literary, unbiased - or at least nuanced -debate) Knowledge transfer and learning are complex disciplines and processes The knowledge transferred does not necessary result in learning, capacity building, sufficient or relevant insight, improved decision-making, assurance or changed behaviour

What are your thoughts? Am I missing something?
Well done, fabulous point of view!
Tags: Journalism, Elections, Politics, Bias, Thoughts

Well done, fabulous point of view!

I truly believe in the unity more than I believe in the division but the human kind is so easyly influenced by one side or the other. Who promises more needs met it will have the approval of the mass.. It is a temporary satisfaction because very little is then accomplished. But in the meanwhile the president was elected, the paper was sold, the rating went high and the money were received.

As soon as we realise this mechanism of mass manipulation the better we will act and live, globally.

Thanks for sharing your fantastic article!
Living A Lie
By: Rehman Cee
Tags: Reasoning, Purpose, Biases, Truth, Hope

Our frame of reasoning is where we stand. Our frame of reasoning is where we recant. We dissolve off our responsibilities when we don’t think. Thinking is how we navigate, adjust, maneuver, to what is happening to us in physics. We are living a life. We are living a lie. If we don’t ascertain to ground reasoning. What is life? Who is life? What are we here to do? Who knows it through and through? It is time to step back. Surrender. And glean.

Live. Love. Be.

Rehman.

Greatness is my journey

Greatness is the key

Greatness is my signal

Greatness is who I want to be.

I want to be One.

Greatness is the Signal. The signal is My Ideal. My ideal is One.
The Media Creates Outrage From Nothing
By: Katy Preen
Tags: Media Literacy, Bias, Tabloid Journalism, Fake News, Crime

The Media Creates Outrage From Nothing

“Taxpayers may have to cough up £3,000 for Yorkshire Ripper’s funeral” screams the headline in the Daily Mirror. But in the sub-heading it tells the full story: “Criminals like Peter Sutcliffe must be buried at the taxpayer’s expense according to Ministry of Justice, if their surviving family cannot or will not pay for the funeral”. Oh, so this is a non-story, then?

No, because most people won’t even read beyond the headline. The Mirror knows this, and produced ‘stories’ like this before the days of clickbait or even the internet. Outrage sells papers, and the British tabloids are expert traders in this particular currency.

The Mirror has turned it into a story by drumming up hatred and revulsion at the notion of ‘our’ taxes being lavished on a five-star funeral for a serial killer. And it’s a load of old nonsense that contributes to our dumbed-down media landscape.

If you read the comments on that tweet, you can see a split between those who want to make sick jokes about it (and I don’t see a problem with that), and those who don’t understand why public money needs to be spent on a funeral for a dead serial killer.

Clue: it’s the same reason the taxpayer funded his bed and board for the last 39 years: this is just one of the functions the state has to perform. There’s nowhere else for this man to go, so the authorities have to deal with it. That’s what they’re there for.

If no-one from Sutcliffe’s family is willing to pay for a funeral (and if I were related to him, I’d want to keep my distance), then a basic service similar to a “pauper’s funeral” will be conducted. These are funerals that are held for people who died alone and with no relatives. These are paid for by the Local Authority, unlike the funeral of Sutcliffe, which will be funded by the Prison Service.

They are the bare minimum process that the deceased is entitled to, no matter who they are. We provide this service because we are a civilised country (sort of) and it is our duty to respectfully take care of the dead.

There will usually be at least one person in attendance in addition to the officiant, and the burial takes place in a common grave, often without a marker. Sutcliffe had expressed a wish for his ex-wife to scatter his ashes in Paris, but I gather she wants nothing to do with him, and I don’t blame her.

I expect Sutcliffe’s final resting place to remain unknown to most, and it’s probably the best outcome we could hope for. He deserves to be forgotten, and it’s better for the nation’s mental wellbeing that we leave behind the sensationalism that accompanies burials of the notorious.
Bias Free
By: Rehman Cee
Tags: Equation, Friction Free, Peace, Bias

The journey of every human is to ‘let go’ We are the bias in our ‘equation’. Our equation works best when it is bias free. When it is neutral.

The methodology to being neutral is called ‘surrender’.

Live. Love. Be.

Rehman

Greatness is my journey

Greatness is the key

Greatness is my signal

Greatness is who I want to be.

I want to be One.

Greatness is the Signal. The signal is My Ideal. My ideal is One.
Introducing the Encode Justice blog
By: Sneha Revanur
Tags: Racism, Artificial Intelligence, Bias, Ai Ethics, Youth

Encode Justice (https://encodejustice.org) is a global, youth-led coalition working to safeguard civil rights and democracy in the age of artificial intelligence through policy development, legislative advocacy, community organizing, technical workshops, and content creation.

Dangerous algorithms are terrifyingly pervasive. Facial recognition technology has been linked to wrongful arrests and protest surveillance. Predictive policing software has disproportionately targeted communities of color under the guise of evidence-based crime prediction. Automated hiring tools and credit score algorithms have demonstrated significant bias against women. Deepfakes have helped disseminate revenge porn and could distort elections with catastrophic ramifications for democracy. In healthcare, criminal justice, housing, immigration, hiring, employment, financial services, and more AI has the potential to reinforce discrimination if left unchecked; as student organizers committed to building a movement for algorithmic justice, we champion human-centered innovation and governance that works for everyone.

Most recently, we spearheaded a successful campaign against California Proposition 25, which would have expanded the use of algorithms in the state criminal justice system despite a documented history of racial bias. Partnering with grassroots civil rights organizations, we represented the youth voice on the Committee to End Pretrial Racism, sharing our understanding of the unique impact that algorithmic risk assessment has on youth by creating informational videos, organizing a series of town halls and other community forums, text banking, phone banking, and campaigning via social media. California voters rejected the measure by a 13% margin. We’ve now kicked off our Stand Up to Surveillance initiative, advocating for moratoria on police use of facial recognition technology worldwide. We’re especially focused on lobbying for the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act of 2020 at the congressional level, and we’re also pushing for local bans.

Pretrial risk assessment simulation via detainrelease.com.

Encode Justice is expanding its efforts to include a workshop program based on AI ethics curriculum we’ve created to teach students; a policy think tank within our organization entirely focused on drafting legislation related to AI governance; and our Medium publication, featuring contributions from members of our team as well as guest writers. We aim to both spotlight the harms of AI and explore tech-centered solutions to pressing challenges, including gerrymandering, climate change, and gun violence. To keep our efforts going, chip in financially at tinyurl.com/EJFundraiser, apply for our fellowship program at tinyurl.com/EJFellowship, and apply to start a regional chapter at tinyurl.com/EJChapters.
What should your best friend do?
By: Mikkel Sciegienny
Tags: Heuristics And Biases, Bias, Decision Making, Heuristics, Biases And Fallacies

When you don’t know what to do, shifting perspective should be your go-to heuristic.

Imagine your best friend was in the same situation as you.

Then ask:

What should my best friend do in this situation?

This works because we’re better at finding solutions for other people than ourselves.

“Cloning” yourself provides an instant perspective.

For instance, I do a variation of this when I set quarterly goals for my business.

Here I ask:

If someone acquired our business, what should they do to grow our business?

Next time you’re facing a situation, try externalizing it.
Biased Media: CNN vs FoxNews
By: Kiersten Kiene
Tags: Mco335, Politics, Bias, Misinformation, Fake News

Spoiler alert: they’re both biased.

Ironically — this isn’t fake.

Fake news! Fake news!

We’ve all heard it, and yet two of the most popular TV news sources are not in the best place on this media bias chart. If we are so concerned about fake news, why are we not solely relying on the most unbiased news sources?

For this demonstration, let’s add a true unbiased and neutral source (again from this media bias chart), The Associated Press. We’re going to be comparing tweets from each source on the reactions of the election outcome.

Starting with the tweets:

CNN:

Here we are given one side, the side of celebration and victory. Parties all across the nation. This story gives us the sense that America is happy and overjoyed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had clinched the race. In the link itself, the story is all about how the American people are celebrating the victory — with no shred of what the conservatives are doing.

Fox News:

Here, we are given complete backhand compared to the CNN tweet and article. The story isn’t written towards Biden, the Democrats, the election, or even Trump. This story is your roommate leaving a note about cleaning the dishes when half of them are theirs anyways. This story is directed at CNN, and is very passive aggressive for a ‘fair’ news source.

AP:

In the tweet alone, we are given both sides. We know Biden won, we know the country is celebrating, we know current President Trump isn’t happy. This shows both sides of the board game. In the linked story, it tells us about the celebrations from the left and the protests from the right. We see both angles and are not hidden from different perspectives.

Why are so many people holding on to these networks, the networks that have been given biased nicknames like “communist news network” or using their own words against them like this:

So if we don’t want to ride the “Trolly to Hell” or get our news from the “Communist News Network,” why don’t we just let go of them. I don’t necessarily condone #cancelculture, however even Twitter had to slow to spread of election misinformation — aka fake news, Trump being a huge part of that. Just looking through his Twitter, there are so many warning labels on his tweets.

Let’s look at some credibly sourced articles, again according to this bias map.

After all of this, are you still going to rely on your information from FoxNews or CNN? I’d hope not. And if you do let me link this bias map one more time for good measure, because there is this thing called double checking accuracy with other sources. Always fact check your information before you share it. Be a part of the solution, don’t be a part of the problem.
An Unspoken Truth about Teams
By: Nathan Holm
Tags: Teams, Bias

So now that we accept this reality, what changes?

Hopefully, how we approach building teams.

Teams reach a consistent and sustainable elevated performance only when leader(ship) clearly articulates, and adheres to the answers, of the following information for potential team members:

1. Vision

2. Core Values and Core Focus

3. Objectives & Key Results (how they measure the progress of the team

4. How feedback will shape the future direction of the team

Additionally, teams reaching a consistent and sustainable elevated performance have a team leader(ship) who: first seeks to understand what the motivators are for each team member to feel being a part of the team is a success for them; and second guides them on a path to achieve both their personal and team goals (or helps them see that they are not the leader and this is not the team for them).

Teams who outperform their ‘peers/competitors’ are not made up of more noble or talented people. Rather, they achieve at a higher level over time through transparent and honest dialogues about personal motivations and ambitions to find the right mixture of people who’s ambitions align with the needs and ways of this particular team.

Many describe this combination of aspirations, strategy and way of operating as their culture. Therefore, your culture’s formation should begin with an understanding, honest acknowledgment, and incorporation of the true motivations and aspirations of leadership and team members; not just from emphasizing the importance of good team attributes.
Modern Dünyada Bilişsel Önyargı
By: Ayyüce Kızrak
Tags: AI, Cognitive Science, Bias, Cognitive Bias

in Getting Started in Product
If I Ruled the World
By: Jennifer Vickery
Tags: Healing, Biases, Racism, Hatred

If I ruled the world, I would change many things. And I would start with me.

I would take my hand and wave away all my bad habits, proclivities, biases and tainted ways of thinking. I would also heal my wounds from past trauma that continue to echo and hinder my ability to trust those who deserve to be trusted. I would not be so hard on myself and enjoy life more.

Next, I would take my hand and use my power to wave away hatred, abuse of all kinds, poverty, homelessness, hunger, disease, despair, bigotry, racism, sexism and any other ism you can think of. I would bring back the art of building interpersonal relationships. I would eliminate our lower human nature and elevate and illuminate goodness. I would make words and behaviors such as love, gratitude, self-respect, dignity, faith, courtesy, beauty and resolve as natural as the air we breathe.

I would visit children in their dreams and inform them of how powerful they are and announce the unlimited potential inside of them. I would also visit the dreams of the brokenhearted, lost, depressed and discouraged, and remind them of their value and purpose. I’d give them a glimpse of the future, the other side of their situation.

I would even be gender-specific by telling young ladies that they are not less than men, nor are their bodies objects, but temples of grace and power to be treated with care. I’d speak in the hearts and minds of young men and tell them that you don’t have to be the biggest and the most powerful to be great; as a matter of fact, it is not he who has the most stuff or is the strongest physically who sits in the highest places. Instead, it’s he who’s honest with himself and recognizes his weaknesses but can still move forward in the face of adversity who is strongest.

If I ruled the world, this would not simply be an opening to my President’s Report; it would be the introduction of the world’s operating procedures manual.

Answer the call to the cause by becoming the ruler of your world!

I appreciate you!

Kirk Ray Smith, President & CEO

Hope Villages of America, formerly RCS Pinellas

RCSPinellas.org
Configuring WebServer and LoadBalancer using ANSIBLE ROLES…..
By: Sourabh Mishra
Tags: Ansible, Apache Httpd, Haproxy, Sourabh Mishra, Sourabh

Follow the below steps to configure load balancer and web server using ansible ROLES

Note: haproxy file has not been made automated with jinja2 template in this demo.

Load Balancer OS IP:

Web Server OS IP:

First create ansible roles.

# ansible-galaxy role init [name of the role]

— — — — here loadbalancer and webserversetup are the ansible roles

2. Now creating the tasks in main.yml file in tasks directory of the webserversetup role…..

3. for the web page that will be shown by the webserver, here we write a small php code which will show the to of the webserver.

now in loadbalancer role…

4. In main.yml file of loadbalancer… creating tasks to setup the loadbalancer

5. Now the roles have been setup . We will now create an ansible-playbook to run these roles.

Note: for this specific demo make sure to create ansible playbook file in the same directory where both the roles are present . Else you may make changes in the ansible configuration file or can provide path of the ansible roles while running the ad-hoc command for the ansible-playbook..

6. Now we will create playbook in that directory only.

ANSIBLE-PLAYBOOK

7. Now from the same directory where the roles are present we will run the playbook.

RUNNING THE ANSIBLE-PLAYBOOK

you may see in the above image all the tasks are successful….

8. Make sure to make changes in the configuration file of the haproxy manully for this specific demo..

NOW … REVIEWING THE TASK..

web page code copied to both the webserver managed node

httpd services are running in the managed node

NOW… GOING TO IP 192.168.43.221:5000 [loadbalancer node IP]

HAPROXY LOADBALANCER WORKING PROPERLY….

HTTPD SERVICE RUNNING AT BOTH THE MANAGED NODE…

IN CASE OF ANY DOUBT.. PLS MENTION IN THE COMMENT SECTION OR PING ME DIRECTLY ON MY EMAIL ….
Custom Ansible modules: azure_tags and panos_tags
By: Irek Romaniuk
Tags: Palo Alto Networks, Ansible

Created two ansible modules, available on Galaxy:

pull IP addresses of tagged Azure VMs (azure_tags)

register IP addresses to dynamic address groups on Palo firewalls (panos_tags). It also de-register existing IP addresses in DAG.

Pull IP addresses of tagged Azure VMs — https://galaxy.ansible.com/irom77/azure

Register IP addresses to Palo dynamic address groups — https://galaxy.ansible.com/irom77/panos

They can be used to pull IP addresses from Azure and register to dynamic address group in Palo firewall with the following playbook:

---

- name: Register Azure tagged Azure addresses into DAG on Panos firewalls

hosts: localhost

vars_files:

- vars/azure_provider.yml tasks:

- name: Pull addresses from Azure

azure_tags:

tgs: "{{tgs}}"

provider: "{{azure_provider_test}}"

register: addr

- debug:

var: addr.meta - name: Register addresses in Panos

panos_tags:

url: "{{url}}"

dag: "{{dag}}"

addrlist: "{{addr.meta}}"

api: !vault |

$ANSIBLE_VAULT;1.1;AES256

register: response

- debug:

var: response

Azure subscription details are kept vars/azure_provider.yml file (with secret encrypted in ansible vault), and Palo api key is encrypted in ansible vault (*** used to suppress values in clear text below).

azure_provider_test:

client_id: ***

subscription_id: ***

tenant: ***

secret: !vault |

$ANSIBLE_VAULT;1.1;AES256

The playbook can be used in Ansible AWX job template and run with easy to update extra variables: Azure tags, as well as Palo ip addresses and tags (referred in dynamic address groups)

AWX job template to register IPs pulled from Azure into Palo DAGs

AWX job template takes care of vault password and sync with source repo. It is also excellent in keeping track of jobs and building workflows.
Configuring reverse proxy with Ansible and also updating HAProxy conf file each time new node(aws instance)join inventory
Tags: AWS, Ansible Automation, Ansible, Haproxy

This blog is about how we can Configuring Reverse Proxy i.e. Haproxy and updating it’s configuration file automatically on each time new Managed node (Configured With Apache Webserver) join the inventory on AWS.

First we have to know what is HAProxy?

Basic Architecture of HAProxy

So What HAProxy actually is..?

HAProxy is free, open source software that provides a high availability load balancer and proxy server for TCP and HTTP-based applications that spreads requests across multiple servers. It is written in C and has a reputation for being fast and efficient (in terms of processor and memory usage)

Now lets do the practical..

🔹First we have to update the Ip addresses in Inventory file(#vim /root/ip.txt) of controller node on which we want to configure something.

In this Inventory I have 2 IP’s , one for Load-balancer and another one for Backend server.

🔹Ansible Configuration file

In this file have to update both , Inventory file location and also our key to login into AWS Instance(key should be present in controller node). The path of file is #vim /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg

Ansible Configuration file.

Now check the connectivity of Managed Nodes with Controller Node.

#ansible all -m ping all command is used to check the connectivity.

here we can clearly see that our both Managed nodes are connected with Controller node.

Now we see our Ansible Playbook

🔹Ansible playbook

host: load_balancer ➯ For Load balancer

host: b_server ➯ For Backend server

🔹HAProxy file configuration

🔹 Running Playbook

Now we are done with the Controller node configuration..!!

Lets check it manually on managed node.

🔹Managed node

Lets have a look of what we configured actually.

Load balancer:-

⭐HAproxy service started⭐

⭐HAproxy config file⭐

here you could see that this file is dynamically updated with the Ip of the Backend server.

🔹checking on browser

You can match the IP of backend server here ⬇

Now we can add as many new instances as managed nodes to configure them as a backend servers by just updating their IP’s to the inventory file and dynamically it will update it to the configuration file of haproxy.

So let’s configure one more backend server as a apache httpd webserver with the same webpage by just adding its IP i.e 3.7.45.127to the inventory file.

Now Ping again ,just to confirm that new instance is pinging or not

Now we just have to run the playbook again and thats it.

This server is launched successfully.

Lets check whether this Backend server is updated in Haproxy file of loadbalancer or not.

🔹Checking haproxy config file
Restarting Webserver (Httpd) Service is not idempotence in nature
By: Neeraj Singh Negi
Tags: Ansible, Ansible Playbook, Web Server, Services, Idempotent

- hosts: 192.168.43.109

vars:

- port_no: "8012"

- dir: "/var/www/web" - localyum:

- name: DVD1

description: Local DVD1

baseurl: "file///dvd/AppStream"

gpgcheck: no

enabled: yes - name: DVD2

description: Local DVD2

baseurl: "file///dvd/BaseOS"

gpgcheck: no

enabled: yes tasks:

- name: Creating directory for DVD

file:

path: /dvd

state: directory - name: Mounting DVD

mount:

src: /dev/cdrom

path: /dvd

state: present

fstype: xfs - name: Configuring local Repo

yum_repository:

name: "{{ item.name }}"

description: "{{ item.description }}"

baseurl: "{{ item.baseurl }}"

gpgcheck: "{{ item.gpgcheck }}"

enabled: "{{ item.enabled }}" with_items: "{{ localyum }}" - name: Installing httpd webserver

package:

name: "httpd"

state: present - name: Creating directory

file:

path: "{{ dir }}"

state: directory



- name: Copy webserver content

copy:

src: index.html

dest: "{{ dir }}/index.html" - name: Checking Webserver Configuration file

template:

dest: "/etc/httpd/conf.d/port-dr.conf"

src: "port-dr.conf.j2" notify:

- config-changed - name: Adding rule for http

firewalld:

port: "{{ port_no }}/tcp"

state: enabled

permanent: yes

immediate: yes - name: starting webserver service

service:

name: "httpd"

state: started handlers:

- name: config-changed

service:

name: "httpd"

state: restarted

enabled: yes

Webserver (Httpd) Template File (port-dr.conf.j2)

Listen {{ port_no }}

<VirtualHost {{ ansible_facts['default_ipv4']['address'] }}:{{ port_no }}>

DocumentRoot {{ dir }}

</VirtualHost>

Webserver Page (index.html)

Hey ! It works...

Click to see the code Github.
🔰Write an Ansible PlayBook for Configuring Docker, Start and enable its services, Pull the httpd…
Tags: Yum, Ansible, Ansible Playbook, Docker, API

code execution

Pulling docker image httpd:

Adding the firewall and copying the html code:
How to make APACHE HTTPD Server as Idempotent?
Tags: Handler, Redhat Linux, Apache Http Server, Ansible, Idempotent

Httpd service is not idempotent in nature, ie it always restarts the service if some changes been made in conf file or not.

With the use of the notify and handler module, we made the httpd service restarts only when there is some change in conf file only.

conf file

checking number on TN

netstat -tnlp

checking the server

server running.

Now, running the playbook again with no changes in conf file.

so, here handler must not run.

handler not run,

Now, changing the port number in conf file ,

configuration change

Now the handler will restart the httpd to update the changes made in conf file.

Running the playbook:

The handler runs now.

Checking the TN if port is working or not

Power 8083 running

Checking the server.

Yes running.

Therefore, the httpd service has finally been made idempotent.
Creating Load Balancer : Using Ansible & Haproxy
Tags: Haproxy, Ansible, Load Balancer

Task Description:

Use Ansible Playbook to configure Reverse Proxy i.e., Haproxy and Update it’s Configuration file automatically on each time new Managed Node(Configure with Apache Webserver) join the inventory.

Ansible is an open-source automation tool, or platform, used for IT tasks such as configuration management, application deployment, intraservice orchestration, and provisioning. Automation is crucial these days, with IT environments that are too complex and often need to scale too quickly for system administrators and developers to keep up if they had to do everything manually.

HAProxy is free, open source software that provides a high availability load balancer and proxy server for TCP and HTTP-based applications that spreads requests across multiple servers. It is written in C and has a reputation for being fast and efficient.

Lets Start →

Firstly create Inventory File in Controller Node

Inventory File

Create a Ansible Playbook

ANSIBLE PLAYBOOK

To make our code dynamic and automatically configure the Haproxy configuration file add the below code in haproxy configuration file in controller node.

Now Run the Playbook,

Now lets check in Loadbalancer.. cmd: vi /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg

Haproxy configuration file updated in Managed Node

php code created in Controller Node

my.php file

Now when we provide the loadbalancer ip in the web browser we get the content from the backend web server (WEBAPP)

Finally we configured Haproxy and Update it’s Configuration file automatically on each time new Managed Node join the inventory.

Github url: https://github.com/dileep-hub/Creating-Load-Balancer-using-Ansible-and-Haproxy/tree/main

Thanks for Reading…… 🙂