Lecture 39 - Data Ethics Discussion - COMPAS

Announcements

• Final Project:
  • MS2 feedback is out
  • Details of final submission and presentation are posted on the FP writeup.
• Friday's class: optional AMA, in AW 303.
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• Thanks for a super fun quarter!

Preview - at the end of class, I'll ask you to answer the following questions:

• Did today’s discussion change your position on the use of a system like COMPAS? Explain why or why not.
• Give one example of a point or perspective shared by a classmate that struck you as particularly interesting or insightful:

Discuss in groups of 3-4:

• What is COMPAS's stated purpose? Is this different from how it's used in practice? How did its creators evaluate its performance?

• Given what is publicly known about COMPAS, what weaknessess can you identify that cast doubt on its ability to achieve its stated purpose? Can you think of ways to address these weaknesses?

Discuss in (new!) groups of 3-4:

• What was ProPublica's definiton of "bias"? What weaknesses can you identify in ProPublica's argument that the system is biased?

• What is your position on the use of a system like this? This could be something like one of the following claims, or something else:

  1. Such a system should never exist or be used.
  2. It would be OK to use this system if it were conclusively shown to be bias-free.
  3. It would be OK to use this system if the formulas used to calculate the scores were available for public scrutiny.
  4. The use of this system for its intended purpose is fine.
  5. The way this system is being used in practice is fine.