Select a calendar:
Filter March Events by Event Type:
SUNMONTUEWEDTHUFRISAT
Events for March 16, 2021
-
CS Colloquium: Dhanya Sridhar (Columbia University) - Beyond prediction: NLP for causal inference
Tue, Mar 16, 2021 @ 09:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dhanya Sridhar, Columbia University
Talk Title: Beyond prediction: NLP for causal inference
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: Why do some misleading articles go viral? Does partisan speech affect how people behave? Many pressing questions require understanding the effects of language. These are causal questions: did an article's writing style cause it to go viral or would it have gone viral anyway? With text data from social media and news sites, we can build predictors with natural language processing (NLP) techniques but these methods can confuse correlation with causation. In this talk, I discuss my recent work on NLP methods for making causal inferences from text. Text data present unique challenges for disentangling causal effects from non-causal correlations. I present approaches that address these challenges by extending black box and probabilistic NLP methods. I outline the validity of these methods for causal inference, and demonstrate their applications to online forum comments and consumer complaints. I conclude with my research vision for a data analysis pipeline that bridges causal thinking and machine learning to enable better decision-making and scientific understanding.
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium
Biography: Dhanya Sridhar is a postdoctoral researcher in the Data Science Institute at Columbia University. She completed her PhD at the University of California Santa Cruz. Her current research is at the intersection of machine learning and causal inference, focusing on applications to social science. Her thesis research focused on probabilistic models of relational data.
Host: Fei Sha
Audiences: By invitation only.
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
-
CS Colloquium: Aloni Cohen (Boston University) - Bridging the Divide Between Computer Science and Law
Tue, Mar 16, 2021 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Aloni Cohen , Boston University
Talk Title: Bridging the Divide Between Computer Science and Law
Series: CS Colloquium
Abstract: Seriously engaging with law and policy exposes new computer science research directions that also have policy consequences. My work aims to understand and resolve the tensions between the theory of privacy and cryptography on the one hand and the privacy laws that govern its eventual real-world context. In this talk, I'll describe work that tackles three broad questions: How can we bridge the basic concepts of data privacy in computer science and law? How can privacy theory have a positive impact on policy? How can we incorporate legal powers and constraints into our cryptographic threat models for better cryptography?
This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium.
Biography: Aloni Cohen a Postdoctoral Associate at Boston University, with a joint appointment at the Hariri Institute for Computing and the School of Law. His research explores the interplay between theoretical cryptography, privacy, law, and policy. Aloni earned his PhD in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT where he was advised by Shafi Goldwasser and supported by a Facebook Fellowship and an NSF Graduate Student Fellowship. Aloni is a former affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and a Fellow at the Aspen Tech Policy Hub.
Host: Aleksandra Korolova
Audiences: By invitation only.
Contact: Assistant to CS chair
-
Undergraduate Advisement Drop-in HoursTue, Mar 16, 2021 @ 01:30 PM - 02:30 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
Workshops & Infosessions
Do you have a quick question? The CS advisement team will be available for drop-in live chat advisement for declared undergraduate students in our four majors during the spring semester on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 1:30pm to 2:30pm Pacific Time. Access the live chat on our website at: https://www.cs.usc.edu/chat/
Location: Online
Audiences: Undergrad
Contact: USC Computer Science
