Events Calendar

CS Colloquium: Keith Burghardt (USC ISI) - Utilizing Data Analysis To Reduce AI Biases

Speaker: Keith Burghardt, USC ISI

Talk Title: Utilizing Data Analysis To Reduce AI Biases

Abstract: Biases are erroneous assumptions about data that can lead artificial intelligence (AI) systems to discriminate, policy makers to make harmful decisions, and data scientists to make conclusions that contradict reality. Biases, however, are often challenging to find or remove because they can be subtle and deeply embedded within data. In this talk, I will discuss how data can inadvertently create biases and present my research that aims to reduce them. I will first show how data can enhance biases, including how computer-human interactions can drive algorithmic ranking systems to erroneous conclusions and how anti-vaccine sentiment and hate speech can become prevalent on social media, which can lead to stereotypes embedded in AI language models. I will then discuss methods that reduce biases by utilizing data analysis. I will show how these methods can improve AI fairness and help researchers better understand how large systems, such as institutions and cities, evolve in time. I will conclude the talk by laying out how this work is a step towards the wider goal of AI risk minimization.

This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium

Join Zoom Meeting
https://usc.zoom.us/j/93464447234?pwd=ZHlKeFlJVTBHWmhoTS9NRVBqTVV5QT09

Meeting ID: 934 6444 7234
Passcode: 475457

Biography: Burghardt is a Computer Scientist at the USC Information Sciences Institute who specializes in complex science, geospatial analysis, and reducing biases with data analysis. He has papers in journals such as NPJ Computational Materials and Communications Physics, and in conferences, such as ICWSM, ASONAM, and CSCW. Burghardt has been a PI in grants from Amazon and ISI, co-PI in grants from DARPA, and co-organized the Inclusive and Fair Speech Technologies special session at the INTERSPEECH 2022 Conference. Burghardt received a PhD and BS (Magna Cum Laude with High Honors) in Physics at the University of Maryland in 2016 and 2012, respectively.

Host: Vatsal Sharan

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Cherie Carter