Library
Use our library to explore Data & Society's original empirical research and read our expert commentary. Sort by media type, or select one or more topic categories to begin browsing.
Publisher
Title
Date
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Longform
ProPublicaD&S affiliate Surya Mattu, with Julia Angwin, Terry Parris Jr., and Seongtaek Lim, continue the Black Box series. Depending on what data they are trained on, machines can “learn” to be biased. That’s what happened in the f... Read on ProPublicaOctober 2016 -
Longform
ProPublicaD&S affiliate Surya Mattu with Julia Angwin examine how Amazon's shopping algorithm directs customers to buy Amazon or Amazon-affiliated sellers' merchandise, even if products from other sellers on the platform cost much le... Read on ProPublicaSeptember 2016 -
Longform
Real Life MagazineD&S researcher Josh Scannell wrote an extensive analysis of predictive policing algorithms, showing that, while they were not built to be racist, they mirror a racist system. Northpointe’s algorithms will always be racist,... Read on Real Life MagazineAugust 2016 -
Academic Article
Florida Law Review ForumThe mythology surrounding “big data” rests on the notion that technical systems can increase efficiency and decrease bias. Such “neutral” systems are supposedly good for implementing legal logic because, like these systems, law... Read on Florida Law Review ForumAugust 2016 -
Longform
ProPublicaD&S fellow Surya Mattu investigated bias in risk assessments, algorithmically generated scores predicting the likelihood of a person committing a future crime. These scores are increasingly used in courtrooms across America... Read on ProPublicaMay 2016 -
blog post
Points"Could policies exist to guide what algorithms find relevant? Algorithms depend on data to make recommendations. Could certain cultural metadata be embedded to ensure Canadian content has other pathways of discovery beyond a pl... Read on PointsMay 2016 -
blog post
CultureDigitally.orgD&S Advisor Tarleton Gillespie responds to Gizmodo's recent piece alleging bias in Facebook's Trending Topics list. He argues that information algorithms like the ones used to identify “trends” on Facebook do not work alone... Read on CultureDigitally.orgMay 2016 -
op-ed
Harvard Business ReviewD&S Researcher Alex Rosenblat examines how Uber’s app design and deployment redistributes management functions to semiautomated and algorithmic systems, as well as to consumer ratings systems, creating ambiguity around who ... Read on Harvard Business ReviewApril 2016 -
blog post
Balkin.blogspot.comReflections from D&S Affiliate Solon Barocas and Advisors Edward W. Felten and Joel Reidenberg on the recent “Unlocking the Black Box” Conference held on April 2 at Yale Law School: Our work on accountable algorithms shows... Read on Balkin.blogspot.comApril 2016 -
Academic Article
SSRND&S Fellow Sorelle Friedler and D&S Affiliate Ifeoma Ajunwa argue in this essay that well settled legal doctrines that prohibit discrimination against job applicants on the basis of sex or race dictate an examination of... Read on SSRNMarch 2016