INFO 4270 - [Ethics and Policy in Data Science]

(ETM-AS)

Fall. Not offered: 2023-2024. Next offered: 2024-2025. 3 credits. Student option grading.

D. Robinson.

The work of applying data science to real-world problems is often ethically complex, raising issues that cannot be resolved on technical grounds alone. In this class we will critically examine a range of contested questions in data science, considering how data is generated, how problems are defined, and how understanding of, and responsibility for, data science systems is ultimately created and shared. Specific topics will include the ethics of system design, problems of discrimination and bias, accountability, and due process. Students will develop their capacity to plan, execute, and evaluate a project with concerns like these in mind, and to cope with novel challenges that lack easy or established answers. To do so, students will develop fluency in the key technical, ethical, policy, and legal terms and concepts that are relevant to a normative assessment of data science; learn about some of the common approaches and emerging tools for mitigating or managing these ethical concerns; and gain exposure to a variety of policy documents that shed light on the current regulatory and legal environment.