Day 2 || 2:30 to 4:00 pm 

Main Convening Space on the 17th Floor

On the occasion of the  2023 Public Interest Universities Network Convening, hosted by Boston University and the Public Interest Technology University Network at New America Foundation, the Faculty of Data and Computer Science at Boston University invites you to join us at the Multisectoral Roundtable on  Algorithmic Fairness: Regulation, Research, and the Reality of Implementation on the afternoon of October 13, 2013.

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During this panel and roundtable discussion, guests will cover pressing issues related to Algorithmic Fairness. Regulators at all levels of government across the globe are proposing and passing laws to ensure the responsible use of data and algorithms to protect against discriminatory practices. Sectors include housing, health, and insurance, to name a few. Policymakers are grappling with the best approach to balance the imperative for fairness with economic and national security drivers. Regulators are grappling with how to interpret and enforce these policies, and the private sector is grappling with how to comply with the regulation. Partnerships between academia and stakeholders can provide dialogue opportunities and identify solutions that support compliance while fostering the public interest. This panel and roundtable will examine a series of case studies of regulation in specific fields and discuss the issues and possible solutions based on academic research. 

Agenda:

  • Welcome – BU Representative (5 mins)
  • Setting the ground – Moderator (10 mins)
  • Speakers’ presentations – 10 min each (40 mins)
  • Open discussion  (30 mins)
  • Closing and Next Steps (5 mins)

Moderator: Prof. Michelle Johnson, Professor Emerita, Journalism, Boston University.

Confirmed Panelists:

  • Prof. Azer Bestavros, Associate Provost for The Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences, William Fairfield Warren, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Founding Director of the Hariri Institute for Computing
  • Prof. Sina Fazelpour, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Computer Science in the Department of Philosophy and in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University;
  • Kevin Fitzpatrick, leads MassMutual’s Privacy, Data, and AI Governance Organization;
  • Merve Hickok, President – CAIDP,  Founder-AIethicist.org, 2022 top 100 most brilliant women in AI ethics
  • Prof.  Manish Raghavan, Drew Houston (2005) Career Development Professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management 

 

Panelists

 

Azer Bestavros, Boston University

Azer Bestavros is the inaugural Associate Provost for Computing & Data Sciences appointed in 2019 to oversee the development and launch of the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences (CDS) a university-wide tenure-home and degree-granting academic unit focused on broadening BU’s footprint in computational and data-driven research as well as introduce new educational pathways for all students to gain computing, data science, and AI skills.

Under his leadership, CDS has grown to comprise 51 faculty members from 24 departments in 11 schools, including 15 new core hires in CDS who support newly-launched undergraduate (BS major and minor) and graduate (MS and PhD) programs that promote integrative pedagogy and an explicit focus on impact-driven experiential learning. Prior to taking on this leadership role, he was the Founding Director of the Hariri Institute for Computing, set up in 2010 to nucleate BU’s presence in computing and data sciences. He has been a member of the BU faculty since 1991 and chaired its Computer Science Department from 2000 to 2007.

 

Sina Fazelpour, Northeastern University

Sina Fazelpour is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Computer Science at Northeastern University. He is also a visiting AI fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where he contributes to NIST’s efforts on extending and operationalizing its AI Risk Management Framework. He is part of the inaugural cohort of Schmidt Futures AI2050 Early Career Fellows, and the 2020-21 Council Fellow on the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Data Policy. Sina is the co-founder and organizer of the IDEAS summer institute for undergraduate students, which aims to broaden participation in and advance a cross-disciplinary approach towards the field of responsible AI.

 

Kevin Fitzpatrick, MassMutual

Kevin is an IT executive with expertise in the areas of multi-asset class investment strategies and portfolio construction, privacy rights, data governance, data science, enterprise architecture and talent management. Over the past 30 years in the financial industry, Kevin has contributed leadership and deep fiduciary ethics in the space between entrepreneurialism and technology to achieve value at scale.

Kevin currently leads MassMutual’s privacy, data, and artificial intelligence governance functions. The organization is digitally transforming governance and driving change by democratizing data, analytics and AI across the enterprise consistent with our corporate values, customer expectations, and regulations. Notable accomplishments include leading efforts for the California Consumers Privacy Act at MassMutual and delivering a cohesive technology vision and strategic roadmap for MassMutual’s Direct to Consumer channel to dramatically scale protection for middle-market consumers with innovative products and digitally-forward, human-supported tactics. Before that Kevin was a Managing Director leading front office IT strategy and solutions at Wellington Management where he was integral to the firm’s evolution into a truly global investment enterprise with sophisticated strategies across all asset classes and a fourfold growth in assets to $1T AUM. Prior to Wellington Management he led application development efforts for State Street’s straightthrough processing transformation and contributed to substantive expansion of Morgan Stanley’s global data network, cyber defense and trading capabilities.

Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science cum laude in Management with Computer Applications from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he is currently a member of the WPI Data Science Executive Advisory Board and previously sat on WPI’s Alumni Association Board. Kevin’s philanthropic efforts include a five-year term as a Board Member of the Wellington Management Foundation during a period of unprecedented growth in endowment assets, annual grants exceeding $2MM, grant expansion to our global offices, and digital transformation of the Foundation.

 

Merve Hickok, Center for AI and Digital Policy

Merve Hickok is the President and Research Director of the Center for AI and Digital Policy and the Founder of AIethicist.org. Her research, training, and consulting work focuses on the impact of AI systems on individuals, society, and public and private organizations, particularly on fundamental rights, democratic values, and social justice. At the University of Michigan, she is a lecturer at the School of Information, the Responsible Data and AI Advisor at the Michigan Institute for Data Science, and an affiliated faculty at Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy (Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program).

She is a globally renowned expert on AI policy, ethics, and governance. Her contributions and perspective have been featured in The New York Times, Guardian, CNN, Forbes, Bloomberg, Wired, Scientific American, The Atlantic, Politico, Protocol, Vox, The Economist, and S&P.

 

Prof. Manish Raghavan, MIT

Prof. Manish Raghavan is the Drew Houston (2005) Career Development Professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management (in the Information Technology group) and Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Before that, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Center for Research on Computation and Society (CRCS), working with Cynthia Dwork. He completed his PhD at the Computer Science department at Cornell University. His primary interests lie in applying computational techniques to domains of social concern, including online platforms, algorithmic fairness, and behavioral economics, with a particular focus on using algorithmic tools in the hiring pipeline.

*Note: Registration is required even if you are a registered attendee of the PIT UN Convening.

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