CITP Virtual Seminar: Closing the Gap: Navigating Complexities and Contradictions In the Mitigation of Algorithmic Bias

Webinar link: https://princeton.zoom.us/j/93934120723

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Dozens of policy proposals and interventions have attempted to address actual and potential cases of algorithmic bias, particularly in systems that have consequential effects on people’s lives. While these proposals commonly include mandates for proactive measurement to detect such biases, they rarely specify how to accomplish what must come next: preventing or rectifying the observed fairness gaps. Technical researchers have made some progress toward the development of theoretical approaches to mitigating algorithmic bias, but these methods have tended to be misaligned with policy expectations, be inapplicable or insufficiently effective in critical circumstances where fairness mitigation is likely to be expected or required, and fail to grapple with practical constraints.

This talk will delve into key tensions and open questions that emerge when attempting to mitigate algorithmic bias, exploring the complex interplay between legal, technical, and policy realities that will need to be resolved in order to effectively tackle algorithmic bias.

Bio: Miranda Bogen is the founding director of the AI Governance Lab at the Center for Democracy & Technology. Building on CDT’s decades of leadership fighting to advance civil rights and civil liberties in the digital age, the Lab provides public interest expertise in rapidly developing policy and technical conversations around artificial intelligence, advancing the interests of individuals whose lives and rights are impacted by AI.

An AI policy expert and responsible AI practitioner, Miranda has led work at the intersection of policy and AI fairness and governance in senior roles in industry and civil society. She served as co-chair of the Fairness, Transparency, and Accountability Working Group at the Partnership on AI, conducted foundational research at the intersection of machine learning and civil rights at Upturn, and most recently guided strategy and implementation of responsible AI practices at Meta. Bogen co-authored widely cited research on the potential for discrimination in personalized advertising and the role of artificial intelligence in the hiring process, and her work has informed international policy discussions on the civil and human rights implications of artificial intelligence, including citations in the White House Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights. Bogen’s writing and analysis has appeared in publications including the Harvard Business Review, NPR, Slate, and Newsweek, and her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Economist, Reuters, Wired, MIT Technology Review, Last Week Tonight, and more.

Bogen holds a Masters from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University with a focus on international technology policy, and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA with degrees in Political Science and Middle Eastern & North African Studies.

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This talk will be recorded and posted to the CITP website, YouTube channel and Media Central.