Public Events
David Robinson: Community Input in the Design of Algorithms
Eggers Hall, 220
Add to: Outlook, ICal, Google Calendar
David Robinson will discuss his new book "Voices in the Code: A Story About People, Their Values, and the Algorithm They Made."
Algorithms – rules written into software – shape key moments in our lives: from who gets hired or admitted to a top public school, to who should go to jail or receive scarce public benefits. Such decisions are both technical and moral. Today, the logic of high stakes software is rarely open to scrutiny, and central moral questions are often left for the technical experts to answer. Policymakers and scholars are seeking better ways to share the moral decision-making within high stakes software — exploring ideas like public participation, transparency, forecasting, and algorithmic audits. But there are few real examples of those techniques in use.
"Voices in the Code" is the story of how one community built a life-and-death algorithm in a relatively inclusive, accountable way. Between 2004 and 2014 patients, surgeons, clinicians, data scientists, public officials and advocates collaborated and compromised to build a new transplant matching algorithm – a system to offer donated kidneys to particular patients from the U.S. national waiting list. Drawing on interviews with key stakeholders, unpublished archives, and multiple scholarly disciplines, I show how this new Kidney Allocation System emerged and evolved over time. Participants gradually built a shared understanding both of what was possible, and of what would be fair. The story ultimately illustrates both the promise and the limits of participation, transparency, forecasting and auditing of high stakes software. I'll conclude with some lessons for the broader struggle to build technology in a democratic and accountable way.
About the speaker:
DAVID G. ROBINSON is a visiting scholar at the Social Science Matrix at the University of California, Berkeley, and a member of the faculty at Apple University. From 2018 to 2021, he wrote his first book, "Voices in the Code," as a visiting scientist at Cornell’s AI Policy and Practice Project.
Category
Social Science and Public Policy
Type
Discussions
Region
Campus
Open to
Public
Organizer
MAX-Autonomous Systems Policy Institute
Accessibility
Contact Lynnell Cabezas to request accommodations
ASPI News
Maxwell School Welcomes New Faculty, Department Chairs for 2022-23
The Maxwell School welcomes several new faculty members and announces the appointment of three department chairs.
See related: Promotions & Appointments
Winders Presents at White House Summit on Advanced Air Mobility
Jamie Winders, professor of geography and the environment and founding director of the Autonomous Systems Policy Institute, was among the presenters offering perspectives on advanced air mobility technologies at a White House summit in Washington, D.C., last week.
See related: Autonomous Systems, Federal, Washington, D.C.
Zhang Discusses Human-Level AI in Inverse Article
Baobao Zhang, assistant professor of political science, was quoted in the Inverse article, "The Darkest Sci-Fi Movie on Amazon Prime Reveals a Controversial Robotics Debate."
See related: Autonomous Systems, United States
Baker Weighs in on Biden’s Use of the Defense Production Act to Manage the Economy
The Hon. James E. Baker, professor of public administration and international affairs by courtesy, was quoted in The Economist article, "A law meant to boost America’s security becomes industrial policy."
See related: Economic Policy, Government, United States
Himmelreich Receives Camilla Stivers Best Article Award from Public Management Research Association
"Artificial Intelligence and Administrative Evil," co-authored by Assistant Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs Johannes Himmelreich, was awarded the Camilla Stivers Best Article Award by the Public Management Research Association.
See related: Autonomous Systems, Awards & Honors
Moving Ideas? The News Media’s Impact on Ridehailing Regulation in Canadian Cities
See related: Canada, Government, Media & Journalism
Himmelreich Weighs in on Use of AI-Powered Weapons Scanners in Lifewire
Johannes Himmelreich, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs, was quoted in the Lifewire article, "AI-Powered Gun Scanners Could Help Fight Crime."
See related: Autonomous Systems, Crime & Violence, Data Privacy, United States
Student Spotlight: Direct Route to Meaningful Impact
Students in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs can now apply directly to the school and begin taking Maxwell courses from day one.
See related: Student Experience
Saba Siddiki Named Chapple Professor
Saba Siddiki has been named the Chapple Family Professor of Citizenship and Democracy at the Maxwell School. She is the fourth faculty member to hold the professorship, created in 2006 with a gift from alumnus and Maxwell School Advisory Board member John H. Chapple ’75 B.A. (PSc)/’11 Hon.
See related: Giving, Promotions & Appointments
Zhang Cited in WIRED on the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence
See related: Autonomous Systems, Data Privacy, United States
Maxwell supports local government at ICMA conference
See related: State & Local
Winders Served on Panel Advising FAA Policy on Small, Unmanned Aircraft Systems
See related: Autonomous Systems, Government, United States
Amit Sanyal awarded grant to study the integration of autonomous systems in wildland fire management
This National Science Foundation funded project will focus on autonomous unmanned aerial systems to perform wildfire monitoring in hazardous environments.
See related: Autonomous Systems, Grant Awards, United States, Wildfires
Krista Kennedy expands her work on data surveillance, algorithms and wearable devices
This study explores algorithmic opacity in smart hearing aids, examines data surveillance disclosures and positions findings within relevant legal contexts.
See related: Autonomous Systems, Data Privacy
Bei Yu and co-authors publish study on exaggerated claims in press releases about health research
ASPI faculty awarded for research on using machine learning for early detection of Alzheimer’s
See related: Autonomous Systems, Awards & Honors, Health Policy
Johannes Himmelreich Named to Syracuse Surveillance Technology Work Group
See related: Autonomous Systems, Promotions & Appointments, State & Local
Bridging Strengths
See related: Aging, Autonomous Systems, Climate Change, Energy, Promotions & Appointments
Unmanned Aerial Systems and Disaster Response: A State-by-State Assessment
This policy brief examines how state-level emergency response divisions across the United States incorporate unmanned aerial systems into their disaster-response operational plans.
Leadership seminars support the National Forum for Black Public Administrators
See related: Student Experience