Rescheduled from 4/17 to 5/1.

How Algorithms Need to See Race Now
Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Professor of Data Science and Computer Science

There is a paradox at the heart of algorithmic decision-making. On the one hand, algorithms that make use of information about race reify and amplify historical inequities and power disparities. On the other hand, algorithms that ignore information about race do exactly the same thing. The key to resolving this paradox appears to lie in how exactly we use information about race when designing and evaluating automated decision systems. 

Suresh Venkatasubramanian is a Professor of Computer Science and Data Science at Brown University. Suresh’s background is in algorithms and computational geometry, as well as data mining and machine learning. His current research interests lie in algorithmic fairness, and more generally the impact of automated decision-making systems in society.

“What I Am Thinking About Now” or WITAN is an informal workshop series where scholars present recently published works/works in progress for early-stage feedback and development.