Algorithms and Accountability Conference

Intro
Scholars, stakeholders, and policymakers question the adequacy of existing mechanisms governing algorithmic decision-making and grapple with new challenges presented by the rise of algorithmic power in terms of transparency, fairness, and equal treatment. Algorithms increasingly shape our news, economic options, and educational trajectories. The centrality and concerns about algorithmic decision making have only increased since we hosted the Governing Algorithms conference in May 2013. This event built upon that conversation to address legal, policy and ethical challenges related to algorithmic power in three specific contexts: media production and consumption, commerce, and education.

Date, Location, Organization

The Algorithms and Accountability conference took place on Saturday, February 28th, 2015, at New York University, Lipton Hall, NYC. Organized by the Information Law Institute, NYU School of Law, it was cosponsored by NYU Steinhardt Department of Media, Culture and Communications, the Intel Science & Technology Center for Social Computing and Microsoft. The organizing committee consists of Joris van Hoboken, Helen Nissenbaum and Elana Zeide. 
 

Program

■ 9.00 - 9.30: Conference Opening, by Helen Nissenbaum (NYU)
 

■ 9.30 - 11.00: FIRESTARTERS

Frank Pasquale (University of Maryland)

Bernhard Rieder (University of Amsterdam)

Solon Barocas (Princeton University)

Meg Leta Jones (Georgetown University)

David Robinson (Yale University)

Seda Gürses (NYU)

Moderated by Karen Levy (NYU)
 

■ 11.30 - 12.30: MEDIA, PLATFORM AND USERS

Christian Sandvig (University of Michigan)

Joris van Hoboken (NYU)

James Grimmelmann (University of Maryland)

Moderated by Kate Crawford (Microsoft Research/MIT Center for Civic Media)
 

■ 1.30 - 2.30: CONSUMERS AND COMMERCE

Julie Brill (Federal Trade Commission)

Oren Bar-Gill (Harvard University)

Natasha Schüll (MIT)

Moderated by Katherine Strandburg (NYU)
 

■ 2.45 - 3.45: THE ALGORITHMIC FUTURE OF EDUCATION

Speakers: Michael Hawes (US Department of Education), Mitchell Stevens (Stanford University), danah boyd (Data & Society); Moderated by Elana Zeide (NYU)
 

■ 4.00 - 5.15:  CLOSING PANEL

Speakers: Karen Yeung (King’s College London), Ed Felten (Princeton University), Eric Goldman (Santa Clara University); Moderated by Malte Ziewitz (Cornell University)