CSE 441—Machine Learning and Society for Non-Majors

Machine Learning (ML) systems make decisions in all parts of our lives, starting from the mundane (e.g. Netflix recommending us movies/TV shows), to the somewhat more relevant (e.g. algorithms deciding which ads Google shows you) to the downright worrisome (e.g. algorithms deciding the risk of a person who is arrested committing a crime in the future). Whether we like it or not, ML systems are here to stay: the economic benefit of automation provided by ML systems means companies and even governments will continue to use algorithms to make decisions that shape our lives. While the benefits of using algorithms to make such decisions can be obvious, these algorithms sometimes have unintended/unforeseen harmful effects. This class will look into various ML systems in use in real life and go into depth of both the societal as well as technical issues. For students who are more technologically inclined, this course will open their eyes to societal implications of technology that such students might create in the future (and at the very least see why claiming ?But algorithms/math cannot be biased? is at best a cop-out). For students who are more interested in the societal implications of algorithms, this class will give them a better understanding of the technical/mathematical underpinnings of these algorithms (because if you do not understand, at some non-trivial level, how these algorithms work you cannot accurately judge the societal impacts of an algorithm). Students cannot take both CSE 440 Machine Learning and Society for Majors and CSE 441 (this course).