Tech

Twitter competition finds that algorithm bias prefers white, slim, young faces

Published

5 years ago

August 12, 2021

A student researcher has found that Twitter’s image-cropping algorithm prefers faces that are slim, young and light-skinned

A graduate student at Switzerland’s EFPL university has discovered a bias in Twitter’s image-cropping ‘saliency’ algorithm.

Bogdan Kulynyc proved that the algorithm preferred faces that are light-skinned, slim and young. Twitter’s saliency algorithm decides the most interesting part of an image to crop for preview.

The researcher tested how the software responded to AI-generated faces

Kulynyc found that by he could manipulate the algorithm to be prefer faces by “making the person’s skin lighter or warmer and smoother; and quite often changing the appearance to that of a younger, more slim, and more stereotypically feminine person”.

He achieved this by using an AI face generator to create artificial people with varying features. He was then able to run the images through the algorithm to see which faces the software preferred.

“We should not forget that algorithmic bias is only a part of a bigger picture. Addressing bias in general and in competitions like this should not end the conversation about the tech being harmful in other ways, or by design, or by fact of existing,” said Kulynyc.

“A lot of harmful tech is harmful not because of accidents, unintended mistakes, but rather by design”
Bogdan Kulynyc

“This shows how algorithmic models amplify real-world biases and societal expectations of beauty”

Twitter’s director of software engineering and head of AI Ethics Rumman Chowdhury says the findings “showcased how applying beauty filters could game the algorithm’s internal scoring model.

“We create these filters because we think that’s what ‘beautiful’ is, and that ends up training our models and driving these unrealistic notions of what it means to be attractive.”

We should not forget that "algorithmic bias" is only a part of a bigger picture. Addressing bias in general and in competitions like this should not end the conversation about the tech being harmful in other ways, or by design, or by fact of existing.
— Bogdan Kulynych (@hiddenmarkov) August 9, 2021

Twitter’s “algorithmic bug bounty”

The findings mark the conclusion of Twitter’s first “algorithmic bug bounty”. The event was part of an in-house competition at the DEF CON security conference in LA.

Twitter rewarded the student $3500 for his efforts.

Last year, Twitter came under fire for cropping out Black faces

This comes after and incident last year, where the tech giant found that the preview crop was more likely to hide Black faces.

Twitter’s director of software engineering Rumman Chowdhury said the findings illustrated that “how to crop an image is a decision best made by people”.

Tech

SpaceX shifts focus to Moon with ambitious Lunar City plans

Elon Musk shifts SpaceX focus from Mars to a 2027 Moon landing, merging with xAI for AI satellite networks.

Published

19 hours ago

February 10, 2026

Harvey Vargas

Elon Musk shifts SpaceX focus from Mars to a 2027 Moon landing, merging with xAI for AI satellite networks.

Elon Musk has set his sights closer to home—literally. SpaceX is now prioritizing the creation of a self-sustaining city on the Moon within the next decade. The ambitious plan marks a major shift from previous Mars-focused strategies, aiming for an uncrewed Starship landing as early as 2027 to support NASA’s Artemis program.

This pivot comes as SpaceX merges with Musk’s xAI, combining the companies into a massive $1.25 trillion valuation. Musk believes the Moon offers practical advantages for launches, making it a more strategic stepping stone for humanity’s future in space.

Alongside lunar ambitions, SpaceX is also developing satellite networks to back AI technologies in orbit. Despite the excitement, NASA’s Artemis program has faced delays, pushing the first crewed lunar flight to March due to technical issues.

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Tech

Claude AI is transforming software engineering and productivity

Anthropic’s Claude AI now manages coding tasks, boosting productivity by 50% as engineers shift to oversight roles.

Published

2 days ago

February 9, 2026

Harvey Vargas

Anthropic’s Claude AI now manages coding tasks, boosting productivity by 50% as engineers shift to oversight roles.

Anthropic has confirmed that its AI, Claude, now handles almost all coding tasks at the company. Engineers are shifting from writing code to oversight and planning, marking a major change in how software development teams operate.

Users report a productivity boost of 50 percent since implementing Claude, highlighting the potential of AI to reshape workflows and day-to-day operations. The shift raises questions about the balance between human oversight and automated code generation.

The move has also affected markets, with shares of Indian IT services companies falling as investors assess the impact on traditional tech roles. Industry leaders stress that while AI can generate code, human input remains crucial for design, review, and strategic decision-making.

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Tech

OpenAI and Anthropic launch faster, smarter AI tools for enterprise coding

OpenAI and Anthropic launch advanced coding models, revolutionizing enterprise software development and intensifying the AI tooling competition.

Published

5 days ago

February 6, 2026

Harvey Vargas

OpenAI and Anthropic launch advanced coding models, revolutionising enterprise software development and intensifying the AI tooling competition.

OpenAI and Anthropic have unveiled powerful new AI coding models aimed at transforming enterprise software development. GPT-5.3 Codex operates 25% faster than its predecessor, tackling complex tasks and following real-time directions without losing context.

Claude Opus 4.6 introduces ‘agent teams’, allowing multiple AI agents to work on tasks simultaneously. The update also includes a one-million-token context window, enabling large volumes of text and code to be processed in a single prompt.

GitHub now supports multiple coding agents, letting developers compare AI approaches on the same problems. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are pushing for enterprise adoption, highlighting the potential for professional applications across industries.

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