[MetaSTEM] Next week: Aditya Dasgupta on AI for Social Science Discovery (NEW LOCATION)

[Tyler Marghetis]

Dear MetaSTEMmers,

Next week we're joined by Adi Dasgupta (CCed) from PoliSci.

We'll meet at our usual time and place: Thursday March 19, 12:30-1:30pm.

Please note that we'll assemble in a *new location*: my lab, which is
located in *SSM 269A*, on the *exact opposite corner of SSM from our usual
room*.

Thanks again to Christian for the boxed lunches! And a big thanks to Aditya
for sharing his work.

Best,
Tyler

*Title:* AI for Social Science Discovery
*Authors:* Aditya Dasgupta, Tesalia Rizzo, Yuhang Zhu
*Time & Place: *Thursday, March 19, 12:30-1:30, in *SSM 269A*
*Abstract:* Traditionally, social scientists understand human behavior by
choosing and measuring explanatory variables, and conducting statistical
tests of hypothesized relationships with a target behavior of interest. Yet
individuals make decisions in complex, high-dimensional environments, the
relevant features of which may be difficult to identify/theorize ex ante.
We propose a framework to use artificial intelligence algorithms for text
and imagery to assist in the discovery of determinants of human behavior.
Our framework is based on training a deep learning algorithm end-to-end to
predict a target behavior of interest directly from unstructured data such
as imagery and text that provides a naturalistic representation of the
setting in which the behavior takes place. Instead of manually selecting
explanatory variables ex ante, we propose usage of explainable artificial
intelligence tools to discover interpretable features that drive
predictions ex post. We provide an information-theoretic grounding for the
framework and illustrate how it can facilitate discovery of novel
determinants of behavior in diverse settings, including understanding what
content gets censored by Chinese social media monitors, how the built
environment affects the turnout decisions of Mexican voters, and how visual
biases enter the criminal sentencing decisions of American judges.

-- 
Tyler Marghetis, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Cognitive & Information Sciences
University of California, Merced
www.tylermarghetis.com
tyler.marghetis at gmail.com | +1.619.252.7798
I use the pronouns: he, him, his
I have moderate face-blindness <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopagnosia>;
if you see me out of context, I may not recognize you
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