Seminar: Algorithmic Fairness: A Pathway to Developing Responsible AI Systems

Abstract

    The increased use of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools in critical domains such as employment, education, policing, and loan approval has led to concerns about potential harms and risks, including biases and algorithmic discrimination. As a result, a new field called algorithmic fairness has emerged to address these issues. In this presentation, I will stress the importance of fairness and provide an overview of techniques for ensuring algorithmic fairness. I will also explain why this can be a challenging task when considering other aspects of responsible AI, such as privacy. In conclusion, I will raise some open questions and suggest future directions for building a responsible AI system based on algorithmic fairness.

Bio

Golnoosh Farnadi holds several academic positions, including assistant professor at HEC Montréal, adjunct professor at UdeM, and core academic member at Mila. In 2021, she was appointed as a Canada AI CIFAR chair, showcasing her expertise in ethical and responsible AI. Golnoosh has been instrumental in organizing workshops, invited talks, and schools on this topic, including the 1st MILA/IVADO summer school on Bias and Discrimination in 2018, and the Montreal AI Symposium in 2022. She has also organized international workshops on algorithmic discrimination at NeurIPS for three consecutive years (2020-2022), where she gave a tutorial on algorithmic fairness in 2022.
In addition to her academic contributions, Golnoosh has received numerous accolades in recognition of her work. Her research has garnered over 1000 citations, and she has won two paper awards. In 2021, she received the Google Scholar Award, Facebook Research Award, and was named one of the Rising Stars, a list of 20 emerging talents in AI Ethics. In 2022, Golnoosh was awarded the Google Research Excellence Award and co-authored a whitepaper with UN-Habitat on AI's risks, applications, and governance in cities. Her latest accomplishment in 2023 includes publishing a book on missing links in AI governance, as part of a collaborative effort between Mila and UNESCO.