Distinguished Lecture on Big Data Law and Policy
The Algorithmic Lens - A world revealed and distorted
Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Director of the Center for Technological Responsibility, Reimagination, and Redesign (CNTR), professor of Computer Science and Data Science at Brown University
Commentator: Bryan Weaver, Senior Lecturer, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, member of the Steering Committee at the Center for Ethics and Human Values at The Ohio State University
About the event
Our world today is filtered through the algorithmic lens - a vast assemblage of algorithmic tools and data that mediate our experience of life, work, and health. This lens reveals and distorts: it forces the world into machine-readable forms and, in doing so, renders some aspects sharper and makes others invisible. To render ourselves amenable to the algorithmic lens, we make choices that implicitly encode values and judgments. Deploying an algorithm starts a moral conversation you didn't know you were having.
In this talk, Professor Venkatasubramanian will unpack the elements of the algorithmic lens and seek to explore its limits. He will argue why it is important that we recognize the existence of the lens and study its limits carefully. Only in doing so can we begin to understand how to design systems that align with our goals and values.
About the speaker
Suresh Venkatasubramanian directs the Center for Technological Responsibility, Reimagination, and Redesign (CNTR) with the Data Science Institute at Brown University, where he is also a Computer Science and Data Science Professor. Dr. Venkatasubramanian's background is in computer science, and his current research interests lie in algorithmic fairness and, more generally, the impact of automated decision-making systems on society.
Professor Venkatasubramanian recently finished a stint in the Biden-Harris administration, where he served as Assistant Director for Science and Justice in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In that capacity, he helped co-author the Blueprint for an AI BIll of Rights.
About the commentator
Bryan Weaver is a philosopher based in the Computer Science and Engineering department at The Ohio State University, where he teaches ethical theory. He works on the philosophies of normativity and technology, focusing on the theory of reasons and rationality, as well as metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics.