Spring 2016 Seminar Series

DATE: 4/14/16
LOCATION: E51-325
TIME: 4:15pm
Reception immediately following

SPEAKER:
Sharad Goel

TITLE
Law, Order & Algorithms

ABSTRACT
Statistical and algorithmic methods are increasingly used throughout the criminal justice system, from predictive policing to sentencing decisions. I’ll discuss two recent applications of this approach: (1) real-time risk assessment in New York City's stop-and-frisk program; and (2) tests for discrimination in traffic stops. For the former, I’ll argue that simple, statistically informed heuristics can improve both the efficiency and equity of officer decisions. For the latter, I’ll show that popular tests for racial bias suffer from a subtle flaw, and will propose a new method for measuring discrimination.