A Salon on Bias and Misinformation in Business

A Salon on Bias and Misinformation in Business will explore the challenges posed by bias and misinformation and consider the opportunities afforded by application of data and technology to assist in understanding, identifying, and mitigating their harmful impacts. The Salon is intended to begin building a community of interest and fostering the exchange of ideas at UVA on the topics of bias and misinformation in business, so that, in the future, we may pursue multidisciplinary research, advance teaching and learning, inform corporate practice, and improve community understanding on these topics.

The use of data and technology to identify biased or inaccurate information, prevent its creation, limit its propagation, and ameliorate its harms at a meaningfully large scale, in the modern business context, affords unique benefits for individuals, businesses, and society. In this context, the use of data and technology can enable:

• individuals to recognize biased or inaccurate information and react appropriately to minimize its spread and mitigate its negative consequences,
• businesses to operate in ways that minimize the production and dissemination of biased or inaccurate information through management policy, process and practice,
• society to sustain the open, productive, and peaceful exchange of ideas and information necessary to nourish and advance a free, just and equitable society.

The event will be held on October 7, 2022 from 11am to 2pm at Rouss & Robertson Halls, McIntire School of Commerce. UVA Faculty only. Pre-registration is required, and seating is limited.

The event will feature a talk by Cathy O’Neil, Visiting Scholar, UVA School of Data Science and author of Weapons of Math Destruction (2016) and The Shame Machine (2022). In addition, it will include a panel discussion moderated by Bobby Parmar, Darden School of Business, and including Laurent Dubois, UVA Karsh Institute for Democracy, Brent Kitchens, McIntire School of Commerce, and Frederick Schauer, University of Virginia School of Law. There will also be ample time for open discussion over lunch.

This event is organized by the UVA Darden-Data Science Collaboratory for Applied Data Science (DCADS), with the support of the Darden School of Business, the School of Data Science, the McIntire School of Commerce, the School of Law, and the Karsh Institute for Democracy.

Please note that this event is intended for those with interest in the topics of bias and misinformation in business, whether that interest is longstanding or new.

For additional information, please contact Marc Ruggiano at mlr5y@virginia.edu.