You’re invited to attend the virtual 2020 Pitt Diversity Forum, July 28 – July 30.
Pitt Cyber will be hosting a discussion at the forum titled Equity and Justice in Government Algorithms on Wednesday, July 29 at 10:45 am.
To attend, please register here. You can attend any/all of the scheduled events.
More about the discussion:
Algorithms are increasingly determinative in our lives, from who gets a loan to who gets a job interview. Yet, these mathematical models are nearly always proprietary and opaque—and frequently biased. A veneer of technical neutrality can obscure that algorithms can reinforce existing discrimination patterns.
Algorithms are becoming an increasingly important tool of municipal governments, including in Allegheny County. They can provide significant benefits to the County and its residents. However, without efforts in place to guide the deployment of these tools, we risk entering the next era of Jim Crow, one driven by massive amounts of available data, with little opportunity for remedy.
This workshop will explore the use of public algorithms in our region, including reasons to be concerned—and reasons to be optimistic. It will also explore how universities can play a role, from education to policy efforts including the Pittsburgh Task Force on Public Algorithms.
Panelists:
Erin Dalton, Deputy Director, Office of Analytics, Technology and Planning, Allegheny County Department of Health and Human Services
Michelle McMurray, Director of Grantmaking – Children, Youth and Families, The Pittsburgh Foundation
Richard Purcell, Associate Professor of English, Director of Literary and Cultural Studies Program, Carnegie Mellon University
LaTrenda Sherrill, Principal + Community Innovator, Common Cause Consulting
Moderated by:
Chris Deluzio, Policy Director, Pitt Cyber