Responsible Data Science

Overview

Instructors

Julia Stoyanovich, Assistant Professor of Data Science, Computer Science and Engineering
George Wood, Moore-Sloan Faculty Fellow, Center for Data Science

Section Leaders

Apurva Bhargava, DS-UA 202
Jeewon Ha, DS-UA 202
Prasanthi Gurumurthy, DS-GA 1017

Graders

Evaristus Ezekwem, DS-GA 1017
Nan Wu, DS-GA 1017

Syllabi

• DS-UA 202
• DS-GA 1017

Description

The first wave of data science focused on accuracy and efficiency – on what we can do with data. The second wave focuses on responsibility – on what we should and shouldn’t do. Irresponsible use of data science can cause harm on an unprecedented scale. Algorithmic changes in search engines can sway elections and incite violence; irreproducible results can influence global economic policy; models based on biased data can legitimize and amplify racist policies in the criminal justice system; algorithmic hiring practices can silently and scalably violate equal opportunity laws, exposing companies to lawsuits and reinforcing the feedback loops that lead to lack of diversity. Therefore, as we develop and deploy data science methods, we are compelled to think about the effects these methods have on individuals, population groups, and on society at large.

Responsible Data Science is a technical course that tackles the issues of ethics, legal compliance, data quality, algorithmic fairness and diversity, transparency of data and algorithms, privacy, and data protection.

The course is developed and taught by Julia Stoyanovich (Assistant Professor at the Center for Data Science and at the Tandon School of Engineering) and George Wood (Moore-Sloan Faculty Fellow at the Center for Data Science).

Meeting Times

DS-UA 202:

DS-GA 1017:

Prerequisites

DS-UA 202: Introduction to Data Science, Introduction to Computer Science, or similar courses
DS-GA 1017: Introduction to Data Science, Introduction to Computer Science, or similar courses

Assignments

See NYU Classes.