Events Calendar

NL Seminar: From Democratization to Personal Names: Reimagining NLP Practices Towards Justice

Speaker: Arjun Subramonian, UCLA, UCLA

Talk Title: From Democratization to Personal Names: Reimagining NLP Practices Towards Justice

Abstract: Meeting hosts only admit on-line guests that they know to the Zoom meeting. Hence, you’re highly encouraged to use your USC account to sign into Zoom. If you’re an outside visitor, please inform us at (nlg-seminar-host(at)isi.edu) to make us aware of your attendance so we can admit you. Specify if you will attend remotely or in person at least one business day prior to the event. Provide your: full name, job title and professional affiliation and arrive at least 10 minutes before the seminar begins. If you do not have access to the 6th Floor for in-person attendance, please check in at the 10th floor main reception desk to register as a visitor and someone will escort you to the conference room location Join Zoom Meetinghttps://usc.zoom.us/j/95338734726?pwd=FwdcZrr7tyjLLiuBgg2DVS6aZKOBf7.1 Meeting ID: 953 3873 4726 Passcode: 100604   Current natural language processing (NLP) practices operate within a set of logics which codify new, and entrench existing, social inequalities and power dynamics. In this talk, I will delve into two troubling NLP practices: the discussion of "democratizing" language technologies and the association of personal names with sociodemographic characteristics. I will reveal how current use of the term "democratization" in NLP can be inconsistent and irresponsible, which risks misrepresenting the distribution of power in and public control of AI; I will further provide recommendations to strengthen progress towards democratic technologies beyond just superficial access. Furthermore, I will survey the issues inherent to associating personal names with sociodemographic attributes, covering problems of validity (e.g., systematic error, construct validity) and ethical concerns (e.g., harms, differential impact, cultural insensitivity). Then, I will offer guiding questions along with normative recommendations to avoid these pitfalls. Ultimately, constructively examining NLP practices through a critical lens is important for advancing justice in the field.

Biography: Arjun Subramonian is a Computer Science PhD candidate at the University of California, Los Angeles. Their research focuses on the fairness and ethics of machine learning and natural language processing. They are further a core organizer of Queer in AI. They are a recipient of an Amazon Fellowship, NSF NRT Fellowship, Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship, and FAccT 2023 Best Paper Award. If speaker approves to be recorded for this seminar, it will be posted on the USC/ISI YouTube page within 1-2 business days: https://www.youtube.com/user/USCISI Subscribe here to learn more about upcoming seminars: https://www.isi.edu/events/  For more information on the NL Seminar series and upcoming talks, please visit: https://www.isi.edu/research-groups-nlg/nlg-seminars/

Host: Jonathan May and Katy Felkner

More Info: https://www.isi.edu/events/5500/from-democratization-to-personal-names-reimagining-nlp-practices-towards-justice/

Webcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl6MIbqvPIQ

Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) - Conf Rm#689

WebCast Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl6MIbqvPIQ

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Pete Zamar

Event Link: https://www.isi.edu/events/5500/from-democratization-to-personal-names-reimagining-nlp-practices-towards-justice/

This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.

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