Speaker: danah boyd, a partner researcher at Microsoft Research, the founder and president of Data & Society, and a visiting professor at New York University
Title: Data: Its Vulnerabilities and Legitimacy
Abstract: Data-driven and algorithmic systems increasingly underpin many decision-making systems, shaping where law enforcement are stationed and what news you are shown on social media. The design of these systems is inscribed with organizational and cultural values. Often, these systems depend on the behavior of everyday people, who may not act as expected. Meanwhile, adversarial actors also seek to manipulate the data upon which these systems are built for personal, political, and economic reasons. In response to calls for algorithmic accountability, computer scientists may seek to "de-bias" data, build "fair" algorithms, or make their models interpretable. Yet, the attack surface goes far beyond the technical realm. In turn, this challenges the legitimacy of the data.
Weaving together her work on media manipulation, search engine "data voids," and efforts to protect the 2020 U.S. Census, danah will help the audience think about the social and technical challenges that our data-centric world introduces.
Date: January 21, 2020
Time: 4:00- 5:00 p.m. ET