# Workshop in Applied Statistics #### calendar\_today Date and Time **September 30, 2020** 12:00PM - 01:30PM EDT #### pin\_drop Location **Zoom - see below** You can attend this workshop via this link: If you would like to be added to the email list to receive reminders and information about the series, please send your email address to Soichiro Yamauchi (). ## Today's presenter Michael Baiocchi (Stanford University), "When black box algorithms are (not) appropriate: a principled prediction-problem ontology" ## Abstract In the 1980s a new, extraordinarily productive way of reasoning about algorithms emerged. Though this type of reasoning has come to dominate areas of data science, it has been under-discussed and its impact under-appreciated. For example, it is the primary way we reason about "black box'' algorithms. In this talk we discuss its current use (i.e., as "the common task framework'') and its limitations; we find a large class of prediction-problems are inappropriate for this type of reasoning. Further, we find the common task framework does not provide a foundation for the deployment of an algorithm in a real world situation. Building off of its core features, we identify a class of problems where this new form of reasoning can be used in deployment. We purposefully develop a novel framework so both technical and non-technical people can discuss and identify key features of their prediction problem and whether or not it is suitable for this new kind of reasoning. *The Applied Statistics Workshop (Gov 3009) is a forum for graduate students, faculty, and visiting scholars to present and discuss methodological or empirical work in progress in an interdisciplinary setting. The workshop features a tour of Harvard's statistical innovations and applications with weekly stops in different fields and disciplines and includes occasional presentations by invited speakers. It is co-hosted by Harvard University's Department of Government and Institute for Quantitative Social Science (IQSS).* For more information, visit the [Applied Statistics website](https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/applied.stats.workshop-gov3009). See also:- [ Workshops, Seminars & Classes ](/event-type/workshops-seminars-classes) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#) Save: [ Add to calendar calendar\_today ](https://www.iq.harvard.edu/node/1529163/event-feed.ics) Copy link link