Race in the Machine: The Making of Algorithmic Bias
Date and Time
Location
Free Hybrid Lecture
Speakers:
Evelynn Hammonds, Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science; Professor of African and African American Studies & Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, T.H Chan School of Public Health
Ellis Monk, Professor of Sociology, Harvard University
Darshali Vyas, Research Fellow in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Latanya Sweeney, Daniel Paul Professor of the Practice of Government and Technology, Harvard Kennedy School
Though many of us may think of race as a social construct, exactly how race has been (and continues to be) constructed is often unclear, with deadly consequences. This panel discussion brings together scholars who investigate how racial categories are hidden in numerous technologies central to modern life—clinical algorithms, internet search engines, computer vision, and artificial intelligence. Working both within and beyond academia, these scholars investigate how race becomes embedded in technological systems and the harms that result. How can we better understand the idea of race through its relationship with technology, and how might we begin to untangle these systems to promote justice?
Following the program, attendees will have the opportunity to view the new exhibition Measurement on the Color Line: Scientific Instruments and the Making of Human Categories at the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments.
Advance registration is recommended.
Free event parking is available with registration. Register by November 3 to receive parking registration instructions.
Presented by the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments and the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture.
About the Speakers:
Evelynn M. Hammonds is the Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science and Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. She is also Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research examines the histories of science, medicine, and public health in the United States, with a focus on race, gender, sexuality, feminist theory, African American history, and health disparities. She currently directs Harvard’s Project on Race & Gender in Science & Medicine. Professor Hammonds previously served as Harvard’s first Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity and as Dean of Harvard College. She holds degrees from Spelman College, Georgia Tech, MIT, and Harvard University. An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she has served on numerous national advisory committees and boards. She is vice president and president-elect of the History of Science Society.
Ellis Monk is Professor of Sociology at Harvard University. He earned his PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley and a BA in sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He previously taught at the University of Chicago and Princeton University. His research focuses on the comparative examination of social inequality, especially with respect to race and ethnicity, in a global perspective. This research uses both quantitative and qualitative methods, while drawing heavily upon contemporary theories of social cognition and categories. By deeply engaging with issues of measurement and methodology, it examines the complex relationships between social categories and social inequality, and extends into topics such as social demography, health, aging, social psychology, sociology of the body, political sociology, and comparative/historical sociology.
Latanya Sweeney is Daniel Paul Professor of the Practice of Government and Technology at Harvard University, where she founded and directs the Public Interest Tech Lab and Data Privacy Lab. She is also Editor-in-Chief of Technology Science and former Chief Technology Officer of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. A pioneer in data privacy and algorithmic fairness, Sweeney holds three patents and has authored more than 100 academic publications. Her work is cited in two U.S. regulations, including HIPAA. She has received the Louis D. Brandeis Privacy Award and the American Psychiatric Association’s Privacy Advocacy Award, and is an elected fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics. Dr. Sweeney earned her PhD in computer science from MIT, becoming the first Black woman to do so, and holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Harvard University. She develops technology to address societal and governance challenges, and teaches others how to do the same.
Darshali A. Vyas is a physician in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and a graduate of Harvard Medical School. Her clinical and scholarly work focuses on pulmonary and critical care medicine, health equity, and the impact of race-based practices in medicine. She is co-author of the influential 2020 New England Journal of Medicine article “Hidden in Plain Sight: Reconsidering the Use of Race Correction in Clinical Algorithms,” which examined how race-based adjustments can reinforce health inequities. Dr. Vyas has continued this work through research and publications addressing race-neutral clinical tools, lung function assessment, cardiovascular risk prediction, and access to care. Her recent scholarship also examines the health consequences of Medicaid policy and other structural determinants of health.