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Lab Report







 
August 15, 2019
No. 101

THIS WEEK 
Our latest Problem Spotlight.

Plus: measuring blood pressure with selfies, forecasting volcanoes, and baking in space.

Featured story

PROBLEM SPOTLIGHT

Algorithmic bias and health

Aspirin was prescribed as a pain reliever for nearly 100 years before researchers were able to explain “the precise chemical mechanism of how aspirin stops pain and inflammation.” Harvard’s Jonathan Zittrain says this “answers first, explanations later” approach to discovery results in “intellectual debt,” and it’s not limited to drug development. Across medicine — and now, artificial intelligence and machine learning at large — we’re advancing technologies and solutions without a full understanding of how and why they work. 

For the most part, we enjoy modernity and benefit greatly from massive breakthroughs in health, science, and technology. Most would agree that the 20th century was better with aspirin than without it, and AI offers irresistible advantages to many. However, intellectual debt has consequences, and algorithmic bias is one of the more problematic outcomes. 

When it comes to health, algorithmic bias can be particularly dangerous. In theory, artificial intelligence and machine learning can either fulfill a promise to democratize healthcare or exacerbate inequality; in reality, both things are happening. At best, people are excluded. At worst, people die. 

In our latest Problem Spotlight, we look at algorithmic bias in health — what it is, why it matters, and how to pursue wild innovation while mitigating risk. Read more.

Insights & opportunities


Researchers figured out how to measure blood pressure with a selfie video … but it might not work for all skin tones. 


Digital textbooks and open educational resources are challenging traditional notions of the college textbook.


JFFLabs is accepting applications for its Assessments Impact Accelerator through September 23. The accelerator seeks entrepreneurs and startups with solutions that identify, select, and support the training and development of talent for entry- and mid-skill IT roles.

Satellite imagery and artificial intelligence may be able to help scientists forecast volcano eruptions.


Astronauts are conducting biological experiments and planning to bake cookies in space


Hands-on STEM education and maker-centered learning can promote equitable access to the future of space. Help us bring this important conversation to SXSWEDU 2020: Vote for our session on PanelPicker

Cool job alert

The AI Now Institute at New York University is seeking an Executive Director and a Research Lead, Gender, Race, and Power in AI.  

The New Mexico Consortium is hiring a Citizen Science Project Manager for the Aurorasaurus project at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

The Robin Hood Learning + Technology Fund is recruiting a Computational Thinking Program Officer in New York. 

The California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences is looking for a JBrowse Developer to help build the genomics web at the University of California, Berkeley.

We’re hiring an Associate or Senior Associate in New York. Please share these openings with your network.

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