Abstract: What claims are made about the objectivity of machines versus that of human experts? Whereas most current debates focus on the growing impact of algorithms in the age of Big Data, I argue here in favor of taking a lon... Read on SIGCAS

D&S Board Member Anil Dash contrasts two recent approaches to making internet connectivity more widely available. Comparing the efforts to build consensus behind Facebook's Free Basics initiative to LinkNYC, the recently-la... Read on Medium

The ubiquity and power of machine learning models in society to determine and control an increasing number of real-world decisions presents a challenge.  D&S fellow Sorelle Friedler and a team of researchers have developed ... Read on arXiv

Data & Society Researcher Alexandra Mateescu dives into the implications of electronic monitoring in the criminal justice system. "Enforcement of public safety and order is sometimes less about eradicating crime than it ... Read on Points

D&S fellow Mimi Onuoha thinks through the implications of the moment of data collection and offers a compact set of reminders for those who work with and think about data. "The conceptual, practical, and ethical issues s... Read on Points

In this op-ed, Data & Society fellow Seeta Peña Gangadharan addresses the question "Can Crime Be Ethically Predicted?" and argues that bias is inherent in the technical systems used in predictive policing leading to "fundam... Read on New York Times

If we measure infrastructure in terms of ROI, of course it doesn't make sense to build out fiber to the home in Point Arena. By that measure, it also doesn't really make sense to build bridges. Or roads. Or aqueducts. Public go... Read on The Atlantic

Abstract: Increasing broadband adoption among members of underserved populations remains a high priority among policymakers, advocates, corporations, and affected communities. But questions about the risks entailed in the flow ... Read on New Media & Society

D&S advisor Ethan Zuckerman gives a speech on the MIT Media Lab's 30th anniversary praising the numerous innovations that have come from the lab but puts forth the important question of whether or not innovators can build p... Read on The Conversation

This primer addresses a number of questions about the role open data can play within the criminal justice system. Read more