The iSchool's Center for Informatics Research in Science and Scholarship (CIRSS) will highlight responsible data science and artificial intelligence (AI) in a special speaker series this fall. Topics to be addressed in the new series include explainability, reproducibility, biases, data curation and governance, and privacy.
“While data science, AI, and related technologies and methods are disruptive and pervasive, they can also be empowering and transformative. To leverage the potential benefits of developments in these areas while harnessing risks and harm, we need to approach tech in a responsible way, where responsibility refers to the workforce, products, and services,” said Associate Professor Jana Diesner, who organized the series with Assistant Professor Nigel Bosch.
The Responsible Data Science and AI speaker series, which will be held via Zoom, will take place on Fridays from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Attendance is open to everyone. Attendees are invited to engage with the iSchool in a wider discussion on how data science and AI impact society at large.
"Through our new series, I hope attendees will learn more about the unique ethical issues that arise in different application areas of data science," said Bosch.
Speakers are new and established thought leaders and role models in the field, representing a diversity of thought and backgrounds. The schedule will include:
- August 27: Su Lin Blodgett, postdoctoral researcher in the Fairness, Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics (FATE) group at Microsoft Research Montréal
- September 3: Allison Morgan, data scientist at Twitter
- September 10: Ryan Baker, associate professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania *9:30 a.m. start time for this date
- September 17: Lindah Kotut, assistant professor in the Information School at the University of Washington
- September 24: Pardis Emami-Naeini, postdoctoral scholar in the School of Computer Science at the University of Washington
- October 1: Rainer Böhme, professor for security and privacy in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Innsbruck, Austria
- October 8: Alexandra Olteanu, principal researcher in the Fairness, Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics (FATE) group at Microsoft Research
- October 15: Babak Salimi, assistant professor in the Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute at the University of California, San Diego
- October 22: Katrin Weller, information scientist at GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Germany
- October 29: Julia Stoyanovich, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering in the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University
- November 5: Ceren Budak, assistant professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan
- November 12: Laura Nelson, assistant professor of sociology in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities at Northeastern University
- November 19: Ana-Andreea Stoica, PhD student in computer science at Columbia University
- December 3: Tjitze Rienstra, assistant professor in the Department of Data Science & Knowledge Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, at Maastricht University, The Netherlands
"CIRSS has a long-standing tradition of studying foundational research questions in the information sciences, ranging from data curation and data-driven science, to data analytics and information problems that affect society," said Bertram Ludäscher, professor and CIRSS director. "Responsible data science and AI are a natural focal point, bringing many broader research questions into focus. Solutions to current problems require human-centered and socio-technical approaches, which are at the core of the iSchool's activities in research, teaching, and outreach."