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  • CS Colloquium: Paul Gölz (Harvard) - Fair, Representative, and Transparent Algorithms for Citizens’ Assemblies

    Wed, Mar 29, 2023 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Paul Gölz, Harvard

    Talk Title: Fair, Representative, and Transparent Algorithms for Citizens' Assemblies

    Series: CS Colloquium

    Abstract: Globally, an alternative approach to democracy is gaining momentum: citizens' assemblies, in which randomly selected constituents discuss policy questions and propose solutions. Domain experts have two conflicting requirements on the selection of these assemblies: (1) assemblies should reflect the demographics of the population, and (2) all constituents should have equal chances of being selected. In this talk, I will describe work on designing and analyzing randomized selection algorithms that favorably trade off these objectives. I will share experiences with deploying these algorithms on our online platform Panelot and discuss what we learned from practitioners in the process of adoption. Finally, I will explore how these lessons sparked work on other aspects of citizens' assemblies, such as making the random selection process transparent and managing the discussions within the assembly.

    This lecture satisfies requirements for CSCI 591: Research Colloquium

    Biography: Paul Gölz is a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard. He received his Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University under the supervision of Ariel Procaccia. Paul studies democratic decision-making and the fair allocation of resources, using tools from algorithms, optimization, and artificial intelligence. Algorithms developed in his work are now deployed to select citizens' assemblies around the world and to allocate refugees for a major US resettlement agency.

    Host: David Kempe

    Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 109

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Assistant to CS chair

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