Automated data-driven decision making systems are increasingly being used to assist, or even replace humans in many settings. These systems function by learning from historical decisions, often taken by humans. In order to maximize the utility of these systems (or, classifiers), their training involves minimizing the e…
A membership inference attack (MIA) against a machine-learning model enables an attacker to determine whether a given data record was part of the model's training data or not. In this paper, we provide an in-depth study of the phenomenon of disparate vulnerability against MIAs: unequal success rate of MIAs against diff…
New framework reduces strategic manipulation cost for minority groups in fair classification.
problem Strategic manipulation disparities in fair classification.
method Constrained optimization framework that constructs classifiers to reduce strategic manipulation cost for minority groups.
result Empirically, the approach reduces strategic manipulation cost for minority groups over multiple real-world datasets.
Develops a new criterion for subgroup fairness in algorithmic decision support.
problem Identifying fair recommendations in algorithms despite group-level differences.
method IJDI criterion and IJDI-Scan approach to detect and mitigate disparities.
result Identifies significant disparities in recommendations across subpopulations.
Paper explores fair classification with bounded disparity using finite datasets.
problem Ensuring fairness in binary classification with protected groups.
method Minimax optimal approach with fairness constraints and demographic disparity control.
result Proposes FairBayes-DDP+ method that achieves minimax lower bound on fairness-aware excess risk.
Paper proposes a federated learning framework for relative fairness.
problem Traditional fairness in federated learning overlooks performance disparities between client subgroups.
method Uses a minimax problem approach to minimize relative unfairness, introducing a fairness index based on loss ratios.
result Empirical evaluations confirm the framework's effectiveness in maintaining model performance while reducing disparity.
This work analyzes PINNs for advection-diffusion equations using NTK theory.
problem Understanding and resolving the training difficulties of PINNs for advection-diffusion equations.
method Neural Tangent Kernel (NTK) analysis of PINNs for the linear advection-diffusion equation (LAD).
result PINNs struggle due to spectral bias and convergence rate disparity, especially in advection-dominated and diffusion-dominated regimes.
Paper finds sharpness differences in transformer blocks accelerating LLM training.
problem Understanding and accelerating large language model pre-training.
method Uncovering sharpness disparity across transformer blocks and proposing Blockwise Learning Rate.
result Blockwise Learning Rate strategy accelerates LLM pre-training with lower loss and speedup.
The paper reconciles two conflicting fairness criteria in algorithmic risk scores.
problem How to reconcile calibration and equal error rates in algorithmic risk scores.
method Derive necessary and sufficient conditions for existence of calibrated scores achieving equal error rates, then present an algorithm to find the most accurate score subject to both criteria.
result The method can eliminate error disparities while maintaining calibration and improve profit in credit lending.
Deep chest X-ray classifiers show bias in predicting diagnoses.
problem Bias in deep learning classifiers predicting diagnoses from chest X-rays.
method Trained convolutional neural networks on multiple public datasets to predict 14 diagnostic labels.
result True positive rates vary significantly among different protected attributes, indicating bias.
Study highlights fairness issues in travel behavior prediction models.
problem Ethical challenges in travel behavior analysis using machine learning.
method Operationalized computational fairness by equality of opportunity; compared DNN and DCM; introduced absolute correlation regularization.
result Both DNN and DCM predict disparities across social groups, with DNN outperforming DCM in prediction disparities.
In this paper, we present some theoretical work to explain why simple gradient descent methods are so successful in solving non-convex optimization problems in learning large-scale neural networks (NN). After introducing a mathematical tool called canonical space, we have proved that the objective functions in learning…
EL framework certifies and flags bias in ML models without distributional assumptions.
problem Systematic performance disparities across sensitive subpopulations in ML models.
method Empirical likelihood-based approach for non-parametric fairness auditing.
result EL framework outperforms bootstrap methods in certification and subpopulation discovery.
Study finds racial bias in pulse oximeter readings has minimal impact on ICU ventilation rates.
problem Racial disparities in pulse oximeter readings affect clinical decisions in ICU settings.
method Causal inference using path-specific effects and doubly robust estimator.
result Minimal impact of racial discrepancies on invasive ventilation rates, but more pronounced on ventilation duration.
The paper shows how demographic data can lead to biased predictions, proposing 'Affirmative Information' as a solution.
problem Bias in predictions due to demographic data.
method Characterization of error types and conditions leading to disparate impact.
result Demographic variables in data can lead to biased predictions, with higher average outcomes receiving higher false positive rates.
Improved analysis shows momentum in SGD reduces batch size needs for non-convex objectives.
problem Reducing batch size requirements for SGD in non-convex optimization.
method Normalized SGD with momentum, adaptive method for small gradient variance.
result Normalized SGD with momentum achieves ε-critical points in O(1/ε3.5) iterations. This work builds a fair classification algorithm that abstains from making predictions.
problem Building a fair classification algorithm that incorporates human decision-making and avoids disparities.
method Formalizes the problem of risk minimization under fairness and abstention constraints, derives the optimal classifier, and proposes a post-processing algorithm using unlabeled data.
result The proposed algorithm achieves fairness and abstention guarantees independently of the initial classifier, provided sufficient unlabeled data is available.
The paper studies and mitigates accuracy disparity in regression models.
problem Accuracy disparity between different demographic subgroups in high-stakes domains.
method Error decomposition theorem and distribution alignment algorithm.
result The proposed algorithm effectively mitigates accuracy disparity while maintaining predictive power.
Recidivism prediction instruments (RPI's) provide decision makers with an assessment of the likelihood that a criminal defendant will reoffend at a future point in time. While such instruments are gaining increasing popularity across the country, their use is attracting tremendous controversy. Much of the controversy c…
Develops methods for fair classification under linear disparity constraints.
problem Disparate impacts of machine learning algorithms on protected groups.
method Bayes-optimal fair classification methods via pre-, in-, and post-processing.
result Explicit forms of Bayes-optimal fair classifiers under linear disparity measures.
Following related work in law and policy, two notions of disparity have come to shape the study of fairness in algorithmic decision-making. Algorithms exhibit treatment disparity if they formally treat members of protected subgroups differently; algorithms exhibit impact disparity when outcomes differ across subgroups,…
Study decomposes racial healthcare disparities via shifts in mediator distributions.
problem Racial disparities in healthcare expenditures and their underlying drivers.
method Framework decomposing disparities into mediator distribution shifts and residual components, using MEPS data.
result Substantial disparities persist even when mediators are equalized, suggesting unmeasured or structural factors.
Bayesian model identifies health disparities in disease progression.
problem Health disparities bias disease progression models.
method Interpretable Bayesian model accounting for three disparities.
result Model identifies and corrects for health disparities.
Study shows explanation disparities in machine learning models are influenced by data and model properties.
problem Disparities in post-hoc machine learning explanation methods across race and gender.
method Simulations and experiments on a real-world dataset to assess challenges to explanation disparities.
result Increased covariate shift, concept shift, and omission of covariates increase explanation disparities, especially for neural network models.
Study shows label errors impact model disparity metrics, proposing mitigation methods.
problem Impact of label errors on model disparity metrics.
method Empirical study, characterizing label error effects; proposing estimation and relabeling methods.
result Label errors significantly affect model disparity metrics, particularly for minority groups.
A new CVaR test reduces group performance disparity detection complexity.
problem Detecting performance disparities across multiple sensitive groups in ML models.
method Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) testing to reduce sample complexity.
result Sample complexity reduced exponentially to be at most the square root of the number of groups.
As algorithmic prediction systems have become widespread, fears that these systems may inadvertently discriminate against members of underrepresented populations have grown. With the goal of understanding fundamental principles that underpin the growing number of approaches to mitigating algorithmic discrimination, we …
Proposes a method to quantify and decompose disparity in ML models, separating exempt and non-exempt components.
problem Quantifying disparity in ML models, especially when certain features are exempted due to their critical importance.
method Information-theoretic decomposition into exempt and non-exempt components, satisfying desirable properties.
result Proposes a measure of non-exempt disparity that satisfies all desirable properties, and shows impossibility results for observational measures.
End-to-end framework learns precise disparity for activity recognition.
problem Precise portrayal of intraclass disparity in activity recognition.
method Knowledge-directed adversarial learning framework with two competitive encoding distributions.
result Robust and generalizable performance on HAR benchmark datasets.
In recent years, automated data-driven decision-making systems have enjoyed a tremendous success in a variety of fields (e.g., to make product recommendations, or to guide the production of entertainment). More recently, these algorithms are increasingly being used to assist socially sensitive decision-making (e.g., to…
We provide the asymptotic distribution of the major indexes used in the statistical literature to quantify disparate treatment in machine learning. We aim at promoting the use of confidence intervals when testing the so-called group disparate impact. We illustrate on some examples the importance of using confidence int…
This work explains the structural origins of attention sinks in LLMs.
problem Initial tokens disproportionately monopolize attention scores in LLMs.
method Traced to self-attention's value aggregation process and FFN layer activations.
result Attention sinks form due to variance discrepancy and dimension disparity.
Paper proposes a new algorithm to minimize AUC disparities in machine learning models.
problem Minimizing unfairness in AUC scores for machine learning models.
method Proposes a minimax learning and bias mitigation framework for AUC optimization.
result Proves the convergence of the proposed algorithm to minimize group-level AUC.
The paper examines how adversarial robustness affects accuracy disparity across different classes.
problem Understanding the impact of adversarial robustness on accuracy disparity across different classes.
method Linear classifiers under a Gaussian mixture model, decomposing the impact into inherent and imbalance effects.
result Adversarial robustness consistently degrades standard accuracy in balanced classes, but the class imbalance ratio plays a different role in accuracy disparity.
We propose a novel algorithm for learning fair representations that can simultaneously mitigate two notions of disparity among different demographic subgroups in the classification setting. Two key components underpinning the design of our algorithm are balanced error rate and conditional alignment of representations. …
Paper tackles fairness in CCA by minimizing correlation disparity error.
problem Fairness issues in CCA.
method Framework to minimize correlation disparity error in CCA.
result Reduces correlation disparity error without sacrificing CCA accuracy.
New method evaluates multiple social disparities using machine learning.
problem Reduction of educational disparities across multiple dimensions.
method Triply-Robust Machine Learning Approach for Causal Decomposition Analysis.
result Simultaneous interventions across multiple domains reduce disparities.
Conformal prediction sets can lead to unfair outcomes.
problem Disparate impact in decision-making with conformal prediction sets.
method Experiments with human participants to demonstrate disparate impact and propose equalizing set sizes across groups.
result Providing prediction sets that satisfy Equalized Coverage increases disparate impact compared to marginal coverage.
Deep learning algorithms often require solving a highly non-linear and nonconvex unconstrained optimization problem. Methods for solving optimization problems in large-scale machine learning, such as deep learning and deep reinforcement learning (RL), are generally restricted to the class of first-order algorithms, lik…
When the performance of a machine learning model varies over groups defined by sensitive attributes (e.g., gender or ethnicity), the performance disparity can be expressed in terms of the probability distributions of the input and output variables over each group. In this paper, we exploit this fact to reduce the dispa…
We combine multi-task learning and semi-supervised learning by inducing a joint embedding space between disparate label spaces and learning transfer functions between label embeddings, enabling us to jointly leverage unlabelled data and auxiliary, annotated datasets. We evaluate our approach on a variety of sequence cl…
The paper analyzes how deep neural networks handle noisy labels and finds disparate impacts.
problem Disparate impacts of noisy labels on instances with different representation frequencies.
method Quantifying harms, analyzing solutions, and comparing their impacts on different frequency instances.
result Existing solutions lead to disparate treatments, benefiting higher-frequency instances more.
DCEM algorithm reduces bias in machine learning models trained on selective labels.
problem Bias in machine learning models trained on selective labels.
method Disparate Censorship Expectation-Maximization (DCEM) algorithm.
result DCEM improves bias mitigation without sacrificing discriminative performance.
The paper introduces return parity for fairness in MDPs, addressing delayed and adverse effects.
problem Fairness in MDPs for dynamic domains with delayed and adverse effects.
method Proposes return parity, decomposes return disparity, and develops algorithms for state visitation distributional alignment.
result The proposed algorithms can successfully close the disparity gap while maintaining policy performance.
New method reduces privacy impact on model accuracy for underrepresented groups.
problem Privacy mechanisms disproportionately affect underrepresented groups in machine learning models.
method Proposes DPSGD-F, a modified DPSGD that adjusts group contributions based on clipping bias.
result DPSGD-F removes disparate impact of differential privacy on model accuracy for protected groups.
What does it mean for an algorithm to be biased? In U.S. law, unintentional bias is encoded via disparate impact, which occurs when a selection process has widely different outcomes for different groups, even as it appears to be neutral. This legal determination hinges on a definition of a protected class (ethnicity, g…
The increasing impact of algorithmic decisions on people's lives compels us to scrutinize their fairness and, in particular, the disparate impacts that ostensibly-color-blind algorithms can have on different groups. Examples include credit decisioning, hiring, advertising, criminal justice, personalized medicine, and t…
New method to quantify feature contributions to disparity without access to decision-making model.
problem Quantifying feature contributions to disparity when decision-making model is not accessible.
method Use information theory to measure redundant statistical dependency between protected attribute and feature.
result Quantify feature contributions to disparity using information theory.