How Fair is Software Fairness Testing?
Software fairness testing is a central method for evaluating AI systems, yet the meaning of fairness is often treated as fixed and universally applicable. This vision paper positions fairness testing as culturally situated and examines the problem across three dimensions. First, fairness metrics encode particular cultural values while marginalizing others. Second, test datasets are predominantly designed from Western contexts, excluding knowledge systems grounded in oral traditions, Indigenous languages, and non-digital communities. Third, fairness testing raises ethical concerns, including the reliance on low-paid data labeling in the Global South and the environmental costs of training and deploying large-scale models, which disproportionately affect climate-vulnerable populations. Addressing these issues requires rethinking fairness testing beyond universal metrics and moving toward evaluation frameworks that respect cultural plurality and acknowledge the right to refuse algorithmic mediation.
Thu 16 AprDisplayed time zone: Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil change
16:00 - 17:30 | Human and Social Aspects 10SE in Society (SEIS) at Oceania IV Chair(s): Paola Inverardi Gran Sasso Science Institute | ||
16:00 15mTalk | How Fair is Software Fairness Testing? SE in Society (SEIS) Ann Barcomb Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Mariana Pinheiro Bento University of Calgary, Giuseppe Destefanis University College London, Sherlock A. Licorish University of Otago, Cleyton Magalhaes Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Ronnie de Souza Santos University of Calgary, Mairieli Wessel Radboud University Pre-print | ||
16:15 15mTalk | Cyberbullying Safety Engineering by Patent: Trends, Solution Paradigms, and Societal Impacts SE in Society (SEIS) Mohamad Kassab Boston University | ||
16:30 15mTalk | From Big Tech to Big Politics: Users' Discourse on the Politicization of Technology Companies SE in Society (SEIS) Amelia Kalecińska Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Panagiotis Fotopoulos Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Emitzá Guzmán Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam | ||
16:45 15mTalk | Once Upon a Team: Investigating Bias in LLM-Driven Software Team Composition and Task Allocation SE in Society (SEIS) Alessandra Parziale Gran Sasso Science Institute, Gianmario Voria University of Salerno, Valeria Pontillo Gran Sasso Science Institute, Amleto Di Salle Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), Patrizio Pelliccione Gran Sasso Science Institute, L'Aquila, Italy, Gemma Catolino University of Salerno, Fabio Palomba University of Salerno | ||
17:00 15mTalk | Negotiating Ethics in Video Game Development: Insights from Practitioners SE in Society (SEIS) | ||
17:15 15mTalk | Exploring Societal Biases in Generative AI using Social Science Constructs and Theories SE in Society (SEIS) Muneera Bano CSIRO's Data61, Rashina Hoda Monash University, Didar Zowghi CSIRO's Data61 - University of Technology Sydney | ||