Show Notes on Encode Equity Organizations have flocked to data science as a means of achieving unbiased results in decision-making on the premise that “the data doesn’t lie.” Yet, as data is reflective of the biases in our culture, in our histo

Tay Bot: A Cautionary Tale

Jan 30th, 2020 16m 17s

Show Notes on Tay Bot Tay Bot was a very short-lived chat AI. Launched by Microsoft in 2016 with the goal of researching conversational speech online, it soon learned all-too-well from users that there is a very dark side to human nature on the

Incorporate Inclusivity

Jan 16th, 2020 12m 55s

Show Notes on Incorporate Inclusivity Data scientists develop algorithms that have broad reach across the population. Chances are that the data science team building these widely-impactful models are not, themselves, large enough to represent s

Apple Credit Card and Unfair Limits

Jan 9th, 2020 19m 28s

Show Notes on Apple Credit Card Apple recently decided to offer a branded Apple credit card in conjunction with Goldman Sachs. This is the first foray into consumer credit cards for both companies and all did not go according to plan. David Hei

Retain Responsibility

Nov 12th, 2019 16m 31s

Show Notes on Retain Responsibility One of the core tenets of ethical behavior in data science revolves around the concept of needing to retain responsibility or accountability. A differentiator between our take on this and that most commonly c

Data Ethics & Policy with Sheila Colclasure

Sep 17th, 2019 42m 39s

Data is infinite. Digital is inevitable. Sheila Colclasure This week we are talking about the efforts underway around the world to promote ethical, accountable data use, the promise and terror of AI, the need for a universal translator, and muc

Optimized Caffeine Consumption with 2B-Alert

Aug 1st, 2019 18m 1s

Show Notes on 2B-Alert The US Army commissioned a study to find the optimal amount and timing of caffeine consumption for soldiers to maintain peak alertness. I have never been more proud of my tax dollars in all my life. Now, the 2B-Alert tool

Colleges Fake Data for Rankings

Jul 11th, 2019 24m 21s

Episode 30: Colleges Fake Data for Rankings – Show Notes Going to college is a life-altering decision for young adults. They prepare themselves with academics, standardized tests, extracurricular activities, and a host of research as to the bes

Tesla Cars Store Unencrypted Data

Jun 19th, 2019 18m 15s

Episode 29: Tesla Data Storage – Show Notes Tesla has given the world a new promise between its electric engine, sleek styling, and amazing autopilot. But under the hood lurks a dangerous secret. Every time a phone pairs with the vehicle, all o

Collect Carefully

May 22nd, 2019 16m 15s

Episode 28: Collect Carefully – Show Notes The era of Big Data has meant the ability gathering and processing of vast stores of information about almost anything. It enables data scientists to bring enormous swaths of data to bear on a given pr

Predicting Mortality

May 1st, 2019 25m 7s

Episode 27: Predicting Mortality – Show Notes Death comes for us all. Even for kings he comes. Robert Bolt Researchers in the UK have been able to vastly improve the capabilities to predict an early death for middle-aged patients. New algorithm

Citizenship, Privacy, and the 2020 Census

Mar 27th, 2019 16m 35s

Episode 26 – Citizenship, Privacy, and the 2020 Census Show Notes The US Census happens every ten years and provides the basis for democratic representation, federal fund distribution, and swaths of research. But this time, the census is poised

US GDPR Coming Soon?

Mar 7th, 2019 14m 35s

Episode 25 – US GDPR Show Notes Data scientists in many industries rely on personal data to develop models and make decisions. They can gather data from third parties, the internet, internal sources, and more to amass a stockpile of information

Preventing Fake News

Feb 21st, 2019 13m 35s

Episode 24: Preventing Fake News – Show Notes Researchers at OpenAI have made amazing breakthroughs in natural language processing in the creation and interpretation of content. So amazing, in fact, that they have elected to withhold the full v

AI Has Americans Worried

Feb 13th, 2019 14m 16s

Episode 23: Concerns About AI – Show Notes Horror stories of AI gone mad are everywhere in science fiction – but are they likely to become reality? Many Americans now believe so. Based on a recent Vox article covering a study from the Universit

Protect Privacy

Feb 5th, 2019 17m 28s

Episode 22: Protect Privacy – Show Notes IT are not the only ones responsible to protect privacy of data. Data scientists share this burden as they search for, collect, store, utilize, and share vast amounts of information. In this episode, we

Fair Fares? How airlines get away with differential pricing

Jan 30th, 2019 20m 38s

Episode 21: Differential Pricing in Opaque Markets – Show Notes Why do some people pay $120 and others pay $650 for a seat on the same airplane? Or the same car insurance policy? Differential pricing is everywhere but it is especially prevalent

Price Discrimination in Retail

Jan 22nd, 2019 18m 28s

Episode 20: Price Discrimination in Retail – Show Notes Price discrimination is when companies show different prices to different customers based on what each customer is willing to pay. For many retailers, that means gathering data and creatin

Proxy Variables

Jan 15th, 2019 5m 1s

Episode 19: Proxy Variables – Show Notes This quick, informational segment introduces the concept of proxy variables. In short, proxy variables are data elements used in place of something that may be more pertinent but also more difficult to m

Train Transparently

Jan 8th, 2019 14m 54s

Episode 18: Train Transparently – Show Notes As algorithms are created and unleashed upon the world, it is crucial to understand not only what they are but how they came to be. The best way to accomplish this before chaos is wreaked is to train

Seasons Greetings from Lexy and Marie

Dec 28th, 2018 39s

Season’s greetings to you! Thank you for joining us this year for the Data Science Ethics Podcast. We’re loving this an we’re thrilled for what’s still to come. We’ve got some great topics on deck for 2019 and are continuing to make progress to

Daylight Savings Time and Confirmation Bias

Nov 27th, 2018 11m 30s

Episode 17: Daylight Savings Time and Confirmation Bias – Show Notes This episode was inspired by a clear lack of sleep. Today, we are discussing confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is when people seek out only the evidence that supports their

Moral Machine and We Get Stumped

Nov 7th, 2018 20m 22s

Episode 16: The Moral Machine – Show Notes MIT conducted a long-term study called the Moral Machine that spanned the globe. It posed seemingly-simply questions about what a driverless car should do. These were variations on the trolley problem

Reputational Risk and Data Transparency

Oct 30th, 2018 15m 36s

Episode 15: Transparency and Reputational Risk – Show Notes Between the mortgage crisis, Madoff Scandall, and Wells Fargo’s fraudulent account openings, banks have had a rough go of it. They have become increasingly aware and sensitive to the e

Become a Member

Oct 26th, 2018 1m 55s

Hi listeners. This is Lexy with the Data Science Ethics Podcast. Today, I’ve got a special announcement. We are gearing up to launch the members only podcast! As we teased in the introductory episode, the members only podcast explores data scie