Algorithms, in many ways, control the beat of modern life.
Algorithmic systems give us the reviews, recommendations, and connections that help us find better products, great movies, and new friends. They can be applied to nearly every facet of our lives—commerce, transportation, advertising—and when they work well, they can enrich and facilitate our experiences at home, work, and play.
But decision-by-algorithm is by no means foolproof: Bias on the part of the algorithm’s author can create inadvertent, false associations that serve to mislead decision making or to malign entire cultures.
With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Dr. Eric Baumer, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at Lehigh University, is seeking to improve algorithmic system design methods through a decidedly egalitarian approach. His proposal to develop participatory methods for human-centered design of algorithmic systems recently won him a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation.
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