Bias in Algorithms and the Misuse of Big Data Sets

Henry M. Walker
Professor Emeritus of Computer Science and Mathematics Grinnell College

Stevenson Hall 1300
12:00 PM - 12:50 PM

The news abounds with stories about the uses of algorithms and Big Data.  In this reporting, successes are widely publicized.  However, discussion of bias and challenges is spotty at best.  In many settings, it seems that policies and practices may assume that computing algorithms will be unbiased and objective, and results are not challenged.

And yet, on March 23, the subtitle of a 2019 story in the Wall Street Journal proclaimed, "Data scientists and civil rights groups are raising the alarm about bias in algorithms that determine everything from who goes to jail to how much your insurance will cost".  Also, the subtitle of Cathy O'Neil's book, "Weapons of Math Destruction", highlights, "How Big Data increases inequality and threatens democracy."

This talk will review a range of issues and challenges in deployed computing systems and encourage all to consider the appropriate role of technology in the setting of both policies and practices.