Combatting hate crimes to build a safer future for all

At the heart of operations research, analytics, data science, and all the related fields, is the desire to improve the world around us, transforming data and information into insight and action, from simple business operations decisions to contributions that improve the quality of life, and even save lives, in communities across the globe.  And within this podcast, we strive to acknowledge and highlight the incredible contributions of INFORMS members, and their passion for tackling the most significant and complex problems facing our world today. Joining me for this episode to discuss his work in combatting an unfortunately pervasive issue throughout…

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Bias and social media: What’s the impact on your screen time?

I think many of us will admit that, in our current environment of social distancing, we are spending even more time online, in particular on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and more. These sites, and the content we see, whether a shared article, comment, ad, or post from a friend or relative, are often controlled by an algorithm which, though based on our preferences and past behavior, can also be subject to bias. This takes on a more significant importance when you consider the impact this content, and how we interact with it, can have on our thoughts,…

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Keeping bias out of job applications and school admissions

In today’s world, we are becoming increasingly aware of the prevalence of bias and the significance of its impact, particularly regarding minority groups and at risk and vulnerable members of our community. In an episode of the podcast released last month, we discussed the presence of bias in rideshares, in particular a study which identified that minorities and supporters of the LGBTQ community are twice as likely to have their rides canceled as Caucasians. In this episode, we will continue to explore additional examples of bias and their impact, as well as the role that operations research and analytics plays…

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Is your bias affecting my meal?

When we travel to a new place, whether for long overdue vacation, a work trip, or simply a day trip someplace we’ve been meaning to check out, many of us rely on review platforms such as TripAdvisor and Yelp to help us plan our visit. In particular, we look for guidance and advice in selecting restaurants, making choices based on how previous visitors have rated their own experience. But how accurate are these reviews really? And adding more ‘food’ for thought, how much of a role does personal bias play when it comes to these reviews, and exactly what factors…

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Data Ethics: Trust but Verify

This episode is one of a special series recorded during the 2019 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Seattle. Joining me is Heidi Livingston Eisips from San Jose State University. She chaired a session at the 2019 Annual Meeting, “Debiasing Decision Making – Ethical Data Mining and Eliminating Algorithmic Bias,” that explored how to balance the benefits of data mining and data analytics in modern society while creating and sustaining a legal and ethical framework to prevent bias.

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Algorithms, evil or just misunderstood?

While algorithms play an increasingly integral role in our day-to-day lives, there still seems to be a great deal of misunderstanding and even mistrust regarding what algorithms are and what they do. To help dispel some of the mystery, joining me is Gah-Yi Ban, assistant professor of management science and operations at London Business School. Her research interests include big data analytics; in particular, algorithmic decision making involving complex, often highly uncertain data. Her recent TEDx Talk, “The power and perils of algorithms,” delves into the fundamental truths of algorithms to help everyone, even those who are not algorithmic experts,…

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