Data Science newsletter – April 22, 2021

Newsletter features journalism, research papers and tools/software for April 22, 2021

 

This morning, I read the new proposed @EU_Commission AI legislation, “Proposal for a Regulation on a European approach for Artificial Intelligence.”

Twitter, Meredith Broussard


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Here are my notes on the first 50 or so pages. [thread]


Q&A: It’s not just social media — misinformation can spread in scientific communication too

University of Washington, UW News


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When people think of misinformation, they often focus on popular and social media. But in a paper published April 12 in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, University of Washington faculty members Jevin West and Carl Bergstrom write that scientific communication — both scientific papers and news articles written about papers — also has the potential to spread misinformation.

The researchers note that this doesn’t mean that science is broken. “Far from it,” write West, an associate professor at the UW Information School and the Center for an Informed Public’s inaugural director, and Bergstrom, a UW biology professor and a CIP faculty member. “Science is the greatest of human inventions for understanding our world, and it functions remarkably well despite these challenges. Still, scientists compete for eyeballs just as journalists do.”

UW News asked West and Bergstrom to discuss misinformation in and about science.


Above-Average Atlantic Hurricane Activity Again Expected in 2021

University of Arizona, News


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The year 2020 saw the most active hurricane season on record and marked the fifth consecutive year for above-average activity. A University of Arizona-led hurricane forecasting team predicts another year of above-average hurricane activity over the Atlantic Ocean in 2021.

The team predicts 18 named storms, including eight hurricanes, throughout the 2021 North Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. In comparison, the 30-year average is 13 named storms and seven hurricanes annually.


AI industry’s performance benchmark, MLPerf, for the first time also measures the energy that machine learning consumes

ZDNet, Tiernan Ray


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Every few months, the artificial intelligence industry has a bake-off of the latest machine learning computer systems.

The meet-up, which has been going on for several years, is typically focused on the best performance in multi-processor computers put together by chip vendors such as Nvidia and Qualcomm and their partners such as Dell, measured against a set of benchmark tasks such as object detection and image classification.

This year, the bake-off has a novel twist: An examination of how much energy such massively parallel computer systems cost, as a kind of proxy for how energy-efficient the products are.


Visiting Researcher Fired From Cornell Tech, Drawing Widespread Backlash

The Cornell Daily Sun student newspaper, Surita Basu


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Former Cornell Tech visiting lecturer and researcher J. Khadijah Abdurahman is alleging that she was fired by her colleague in late March because she spoke out against anti-Blackness and ethnic cleansing in Ethiopia.

According to Abdurahman, Prof. Tapan Parikh, information science, fired her after an online confrontation, which was spurred by a discussion on the syllabus of a mutual colleague on March 23. Angry at Abdurahman’s posts as part of this broader discussion, Parikh sent Abdurahman a series of direct messages on Twitter, which she said were racist, in the letter.

Some of Parikh’s messages were also directed at Abdurahman’s Oromo ethnicity — one of the ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Abdurahman said she only responded to Parikh’s comments by asking to be left alone.


Aiming for truth, fairness, and equity in your company’s use of AI

U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Business Blog, Elisa Jillson


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Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology promise to revolutionize our approach to medicine, finance, business operations, media, and more. But research has highlighted how apparently “neutral” technology can produce troubling outcomes – including discrimination by race or other legally protected classes. For example, COVID-19 prediction models can help health systems combat the virus through efficient allocation of ICU beds, ventilators, and other resources. But as a recent study(link is external) in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association suggests, if those models use data that reflect existing racial bias in healthcare delivery, AI that was meant to benefit all patients may worsen healthcare disparities for people of color.

The question, then, is how can we harness the benefits of AI without inadvertently introducing bias or other unfair outcomes? Fortunately, while the sophisticated technology may be new, the FTC’s attention to automated decision making is not.


Bruff named assistant provost and interim director of Digital Commons

Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt News


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Derek Bruff has been appointed assistant provost and named interim director of the Digital Commons, a new faculty development initiative from the Office of the Provost launching in the fall of 2021. Located in 1101 19th Avenue alongside the new Faculty Commons, the Digital Commons will offer programs and services to help Vanderbilt faculty learn the skills they need to use digital technologies in their research and teaching.

The Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and the Office of Faculty Affairs will jointly oversee the Digital Commons during its first year of operation. “Derek has experience managing staff and facilities as well as expertise in digital tools and positive working relationships with faculty,” said Tracey George, vice provost for faculty affairs. “His leadership will help the Digital Commons further the education and discovery efforts of our faculty.”

Bruff will continue to lead the Center for Teaching as executive director. “Through my work at the CFT since 2011, I’ve been helping faculty make intentional choices about using technology in their teaching,” Bruff said. “Now I have the chance to extend that work into faculty research and scholarship.”

The Digital Commons will make use of its new space by hosting workshops and panels aimed at helping faculty decide which digital tools might be useful in their teaching and research, as well as trainings and working groups to support faculty in learning to use particular tools and platforms. The Digital Commons also will feature two labs—a digital media lab staffed by the Center for Teaching, and a digital imaging lab staffed by the Vanderbilt Libraries.


Wyden-Paul bill would close loophole allowing feds to collect private data

TheHill, Chris Mills Rodrigo


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Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced legislation Wednesday aimed at closing a loophole that has allowed government agencies to obtain American’s personal data without a warrant.

The Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act — which is co-sponsored by 19 other Senators including Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and was introduced in the House by Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) — would require a court order for any purchases from third-party data brokers.

Several reports recently have detailed how agencies like the military and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) purchase information including location data about American citizens from companies that harvest data from smartphone apps.


Mapping the People, Places, and Problems of Permafrost Thaw

Eos, J. Besl


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Deteriorating apartment blocks. Crumbling runways. Pipes disconnecting as homes dip into the earth. These are just a few concerns residents of the far Northern Hemisphere will face as their ice-rich soils begin to thaw. But how much do these effects matter? That depends on how many people live there.

A recent project led by Nordregio, a planning and development research center in Stockholm, combined permafrost maps with census data to identify how many communities and people are located near permafrost. According to the authors, 4.94 million people lived in permafrost areas in 2017. That number could be 1.7 million by 2050 but not because of population loss. The projected 61.2% drop is entirely tied to thawing permafrost.

“Permafrost is a major issue for the global climate. The release of carbon and methane of course has global impact, but [permafrost thaw] also has local impact on the population,” said Justine Ramage, a physical geographer with Nordregio and coauthor of the research, which appeared in Population and Environment in January. By emphasizing the human dimension, she hopes the project raises awareness and spurs communities to plan for change. “The Arctic is warming up, and 2050 is tomorrow, basically,” she said. “It’s within our generation.”


The @EU_Commission ‘s final proposal for an Artificial Intelligence Act is here. Some examples:

Twitter, Dr. Kate Crawford


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There’s a big role for datasheets here. For high-risk AI, the regs require datasheets – e.g provenance of datasets, what’s in them, how the data was obtained, selected, labelled, and cleaned.


Proposed NSF Reorganization and Funding Increases Get First Congressional Hearings

Computing Research Association, Brian Mosley


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This week, in four different Congressional hearings, members of Congress got their first chance to weigh in on the multiple proposed changes to the National Science Foundation. Two of these hearings were with Congressional appropriators and concerned President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2022 “skinny” budget request that was released last week. The other two hearings were with the science authorizing committees – the House Science, Space and Technology Committee convened Thursday to consider “Reimagining our Innovation Future,” including some discussion of their newly introduced National Science Foundation for the Future Act, and the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee covered the yet to be reintroduced Endless Frontier Act from Senators Schumer (D-NY) and Young (R-IN). The good news is the initial reactions were mostly positive. However, there are concerns by some members about NSF’s ability to handle a large infusion of funds and whether it’s the right agency to secure the country’s competitiveness.


Facial Recognition, Other ‘Risky’ AI Set for Constraints in EU

Bloomberg Technology, Natalia Drozdiak


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Facial recognition and other high-risk artificial intelligence applications will face strict constraints under new rules unveiled by the European Union that threaten hefty fines for companies that don’t comply.

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, proposed measures on Wednesday that would ban certain AI applications in the EU, including those that exploit vulnerable groups, deploy subliminal techniques or score people’s social behavior.

The use of facial recognition and other real-time remote biometric identification systems by law enforcement would also be prohibited, unless used to prevent a terror attack, find missing children or tackle other public security emergencies.


White House endorses bipartisan bill to increase investment in science and tech innovation

Spectrum News 1 (NY)


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The bill, which was introduced by both Democrats and Republicans and is co-sponsored in widely bipartisan fashion, would expand the National Science Foundation, establish a Technology and Innovation Directorate within the NSF, and provide the newly-established branch with $100 billion in funding over 5 years “to invest in basic and advanced research, commercialization, and education and training programs in technology areas critical to national leadership.”

The Directorate of the National Science Foundation would have authority similar to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the R&D arm of the Department of Defense.

The major technology focus areas for the new agency include artificial intelligence and machine learning, quantum computing, natural or anthropogenic disaster prevention, biotechnology and medical technology, cybersecurity, and advanced energy solutions.


A portable device for taking DNA measurements in the field

EPFL, News


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Preserving the Earth’s biodiversity is a crucial challenge. Biologists must be able to identify and categorize species around the world and study their environment in order to protect and sustain them. The problem is that current characterization methods take far too long relative to the pace at which climate change is affecting our ecosystems. And these methods can be hard to apply out in the field, especially in remote areas that are disconnected – in every sense of the word.

To help solve this problem, two EPFL graduates – Nicolas Adam in microengineering and Jonathan Selz in robotics – launched GenoRobotics, a project to develop a robust, portable and automated device for extracting and sequencing plants’ DNA samples directly in the field. Their project is being supported by EPFL through its interdisciplinary MAKE program. “GenoRobotics lets us combine our interest in science with our love of nature and the great outdoors,” say Adam, who is a trained ski instructor, and Selz, an avid rock climber.


Google Turmoil Exposes Cracks Long in Making for Top AI Watchdog

Bloomberg Tech; Nico Grant , Dina Bass , and Josh Eidelson


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The ouster of lead researchers Gebru, Mitchell followed years of friction over how Google handled allegations of harassment and bias


Events



WeaSul 2021 – Accepted Papers

Benjamin Roth, Barbara Plank, Alex Ratner, Katharina Kann, Dietrich Klakow, Michael A. Hedderich


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Online May 7, starting at 7 a.m. Pacific. “Workshop on Weakly Supervised Learning” is an ICLR 2021 Workshop.


Tech & Racial Equity Conference: Anti-Racist Technologies for a Just Future

Stanford Center for Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity (CCSRE), Digital Civil Society Lab (DCSL) at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, and Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI).


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Online May 19-20. “This free, online conference brings together researchers, policymakers, technologists, and advocates to address technology’s new threats to racial equity and new tools for a more just future.” [registration required]


Deadlines



CIFellows 2021 Application Now Open

“CIFellows 2021The CIFellows 2021 application site is now open. Applicants may start their applications here. Please read the CIFellows 2021 website and FAQs in its entirety before submitting.” Deadline for applications is May 10.

HAI Fall Conference on Policy & AI: Four Radical Proposals for a Better Society

Online November 9-10. “During HAI’s 2021 Fall conference, we will consider four radical proposals for policies that respond to the challenges and opportunities of an AI-powered future. Each substantive session will feature the short presentation of one radical proposal with discussion by a panel of experts from multiple disciplines and backgrounds.” Deadline for submissions is May 10.

American Psychological Association – Technology, Mind & Society Conference

Online November 3-5. Deadline for submissions is May 19.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Assets  




The eScience Institute’s Data Science for Social Good program is now accepting applications for student fellows and project leads for the 2021 summer session. Fellows will work with academic researchers, data scientists and public stakeholder groups on data-intensive research projects that will leverage data science approaches to address societal challenges in areas such as public policy, environmental impacts and more. Student applications due 2/15 – learn more and apply here. DSSG is also soliciting project proposals from academic researchers, public agencies, nonprofit entities and industry who are looking for an opportunity to work closely with data science professionals and students on focused, collaborative projects to make better use of their data. Proposal submissions are due 2/22.

 


Tools & Resources



An Introduction to Social Network Analysis with NetworkX: Two Factions of a Karate Club

Open Data Science


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Networks (a.k.a graphs) are one of the most interesting areas of data science and have been subject to an explosion of interest in recent years. The ability to model the relationship between data points is powerful. This article introduces some basic concepts in network science and gives in python using networkx, the go-to python package for network-related analysis. Keep your eyes peeled for my next article where I will explore network visualizations in more detail!


Careers


Postdocs

Postdoctoral Researcher in Wildlife Connectivity Modeling



University of Montana, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute; Missoula, MT

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