Research Symposium: Jevin West
"Calling BS in an Age of Misinformation"
Since joining the iSchool, I have seen the birth of data science as a field of study and the re-emergence of artificial intelligence as a topic researchers actually associate with. I have experienced blockchain euphoria, the cloud cover of computing, self-driving cars, and virtual assistants. My reasons for techno-optimism are plenty. But they are becoming overshadowed by the darker sides of technology. The rise of misinformation, deep fakes, bot armies, predatory journals, conspiracy-laden recommendations, addictive social media platforms, unfettered facial recognition, algorithmic bias, and the extinction of privacy have deepened my techno-pessimism. The rise of misinformation, in particular, is one of the biggest threats to democracy, human health, and global stability. It has become the focus of my research, teaching and service efforts. In this talk, I will survey a set of projects aimed at combating and better understanding the spread of misinformation in our digital environments, in science and broadly within society.
Jevin West is now an Associate Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington. He is the co-founder of the DataLab. He holds an adjunct faculty position in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. He is also a Data Science Fellow at the eScience Institute and affiliate faculty for the Center for Statistics & Social Sciences. His research and teaching focus on misinformation in and about science. He develops methods for mining the scientific literature in order to study the origins of disciplines, the social and economic biases that drive these disciplines, and the impact the current publication system has on the health of science. He co-developed a course, Calling BS, that teaches students how to combat misinformation wrapped in data, figures and statistics. The course is now being taught at universities around the globe. More information can be found at jevinwest.org.
To attend: please email Jennifer Phipps to RSVP, jrphipps@uw.edu