Towards Equity In Algorithmic Decision Making

Download or read book Towards Equity in Algorithmic Decision Making written by William Cai and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, many high-stakes societal decision-making systems have begun incorporating data and algorithms. This trend raises the question of how decision makers can do so in a way which creates equitable systems which ameliorate inequities. This dissertation considers two broad paths forward towards this goal. First, we review a series of interventions at various stages of the model-building and deployment process. Specifically, we consider how a model-builder might selectively acquire additional information, adaptively sample training data, and add personalization. We show that these interventions allow for model-builders to efficiently allocate resources to create decision-making systems which are inclusive of individuals from vulnerable groups. Second, we review two pieces of work where modern, online data sources give insights which can inform improvements for existing systems. In particular, we first consider how telematics data, containing records on the true prevalence of speeding, sheds light on inequities in traffic enforcement. Then, we see how online game records provide valuable insight into how users make decisions within social networks. Findings from both studies can be incorporated in future design of or interventions in decision-making systems within both spaces. Overall, this dissertation demonstrates two concrete paths for moving towards equitable decision making: intervening to efficiently improve outcomes for underserved groups, and leveraging insights from modern data sources to improve societal decision making systems.