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ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency
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<h2 id="fate-overview">FATE Overview</h2> <p>The acronym FATE refers to Fairness, Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics in sociotechnical systems. FATE is a topic of rising interest as the societal and ethical implications of complex systems such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP) are increasing. The topic provides an interdisciplinary challenge of bridging the gap of transparency between technical and non technical academics and policy makers to ensure the safety and equity of algorithmic systems as they advance at a rapid rate.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> Some solutions and techniques that have been discovered include <a href="/facts/Explainable_artificial_intelligence/dS566nb2">Explainable artificial intelligence</a> (XAI). </p><p>Recent adoptions of AI in both the public and private sector include the predictive recidivism algorithm (otherwise known as <a href="/facts/COMPAS_(software)/NePGANYJ">COMPAS</a>) which was deployed in the US Court, as well as Amazon’s AI Powered recruitment tool, later proven to favor male over female applicants. Further, AI based decision support (ADS) powered by machine learning techniques is more commonly being integrated across fields including criminal justice, education, and benefits provision.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> FATE functions as a means to look further into algorithms to raise awareness and work towards a solution. Companies such as Microsoft have created research teams specifically devoted to the topic.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="key-research-areas-and-emerging-trends-in-fate">Key Research Areas and Emerging Trends in FATE</h2> <p>The FAccT Conference 2024 is looking for articles specifically within the following areas: Audits and Evaluation Practices, System Development and Deployment, Experiences and Interactions, Critical Studies, Law and Policy, and Philosophy. </p> <h2 id="impact-and-influence">Impact and Influence</h2> <p>The research from the ACM FAccT conference has greatly influenced both public rules and how companies operate. Governments and organizations have used ideas from the conference to create guidelines and policies. For example, studies on bias in algorithms have helped change hiring methods at big tech companies, making them fairer. Additionally, laws about how artificial intelligence (AI) should be managed have been shaped by this research. The conference has also helped guide global discussions about ethical AI, contributing to important guidelines like the European Union's AI Act and the AI Principles from the OECD. </p> <h2 id="criticisms-and-controversies">Criticisms and Controversies</h2> <p>Although the ACM FAccT conference is well-regarded, it has received some criticism. Some people say that the ideas shared at the conference are often too focused on theory and may not work well for real-world issues. Others have noticed that even though the conference talks about fairness and transparency in AI, the companies that sponsor it don’t always create technology that follows these values. There is also debate about whether the conference can stay truly independent while receiving money from big tech companies. </p><p>For further reading on areas relevant to FATE see: </p><p><a href="/facts/Algorithmic_bias/vHaHsIdV">Algorithmic bias</a> </p><p><a href="/facts/Artificial_intelligence_art/d591uR6T">Artificial intelligence art</a> </p><p><a href="/facts/Artificial_intelligence_marketing/6Vbkh2hE">Artificial intelligence marketing</a> </p><p><a href="/facts/Ethics_of_artificial_intelligence/u7H0AbEV">Ethics of artificial intelligence</a> </p> <h2 id="list-of-conferences">List of conferences</h2> <p>Past and future FAccT conferences include: </p> <table><tbody><tr><th>Year</th><th>Location</th><th>Date</th><th>Keynote/Invited speakers</th><th>Link</th></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td><a href="/facts/Rio_de_Janeiro,_Brazil/AVPTJJ2C">Rio de Janeiro, Brazil</a></td><td>June 3–6</td><td>TBD</td><td><a href="https://facctconference.org/2024/">Website</a></td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td><a href="/facts/Chicago,_Illinois/yPMokrXH">Chicago, Illinois</a> and <a href="/facts/Virtual_event/roXWxoU7">online</a></td><td>June 12–15</td><td><a href="/facts/Payal_Arora/kSGu7opa">Payal Arora</a>, <a href="/facts/Charlotte_Burrows/oT4IRY2a">Charlotte Burrows</a>, <a href="/facts/Alex_Hanna/URtMkJEe">Alex Hanna</a>, Moritz Hardt, <a href="/facts/Alondra_Nelson/x0lrohzf">Alondra Nelson</a>, Ziad Obermeyer</td><td><a href="https://facctconference.org/2023/">Website</a></td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td><a href="/facts/Seoul,_South_Korea/H0Xloz9o">Seoul, South Korea</a> and <a href="/facts/Virtual_event/roXWxoU7">online</a></td><td>June 21–24</td><td><a href="/facts/Cha_Meeyoung/BlT7klYr">Cha Meeyoung</a>, <a href="/facts/Pascale_Fung/sXqu0zeT">Pascale Fung</a>, <a href="/facts/Mariano-Florentino_Cu%C3%A9llar/zM9gtVlb">Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar</a>, <a href="/facts/Andr%C3%A9_Brock/SxLuy8TC">André Brock</a></td><td><a href="https://facctconference.org/2022/">Website</a></td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td><a href="/facts/Virtual_event/roXWxoU7">Online</a></td><td>March 3–10</td><td><a href="/facts/Yeshimabeit_Milner/3EmlSdvu">Yeshimabeit Milner</a>, <a href="/facts/Katrina_Ligett/RYk1DMfm">Katrina Ligett</a>, <a href="/facts/Julia_Angwin/aQKIV7VF">Julia Angwin</a></td><td><a href="https://facctconference.org/2021/">Website</a></td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td><a href="/facts/Barcelona,_Spain/8PWLdRbW">Barcelona, Spain</a></td><td>January 27–30</td><td><a href="/facts/Ayanna_Howard/F2c2IXb9">Ayanna Howard</a>, <a href="/facts/Yochai_Benkler/5YpxuB92">Yochai Benkler</a>, <a href="/facts/Nani_Jansen_Reventlow/WUjVQl22">Nani Jansen Reventlow</a></td><td><a href="https://facctconference.org/2020/">Website</a></td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td><a href="/facts/Atlanta,_Georgia/8hPVGb78">Atlanta, Georgia</a></td><td>January 29–31</td><td><a href="/facts/Jon_Kleinberg/x9mhMIhN">Jon Kleinberg</a>, Deirdre Mulligan</td><td><a href="https://facctconference.org/2019/">Website</a></td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td><a href="/facts/New_York,_New_York/YlyvFmVC">New York, New York</a></td><td>February 23–24</td><td><a href="/facts/Latanya_Sweeney/k80bUyxn">Latanya Sweeney</a>, Deborah Hellman</td><td><a href="https://facctconference.org/2018/">Website</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://fatconference.org/">Official website</a></li></ul> <ul><li>Green, Ben (2021). "Fairness Through Robustness: Investigating Robustness Disparity in Deep Learning". <i>Proceedings of the 2021 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency</i>. pp. 103–115. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1145%2F3442188.3445910">10.1145/3442188.3445910</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-4503-8309-7.</li> <li>Binns, Reuben (2021). "Fairness, Equality, and Power in Algorithmic Decision-Making". <i>Proceedings of the 2021 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency</i>. pp. 149–159. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1145%2F3442188.3445919">10.1145/3442188.3445919</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-4503-8309-7.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Association for Computing Machinery Conferences". Retrieved 2019-03-27. <a href="https://www.sigcas.org/events/conferences/" target="_blank">https://www.sigcas.org/events/conferences/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Laufer, Benjamin; Jain, Sameer; Cooper, A. Feder; Kleinberg, Jon; Heidari, Hoda (2022-06-20). "Four Years of FAccT: A Reflexive, Mixed-Methods Analysis of Research Contributions, Shortcomings, and Future Prospects". Proceedings of the 2022 Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency. FAccT '22. Seoul, Korea: Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 401–426. doi:10.1145/3531146.3533107. ISBN 978-1-4503-9352-2. S2CID 249642305. <a href="978-1-4503-9352-2" target="_blank">978-1-4503-9352-2</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"2019 ACM FAT conference". www.acm.org. Retrieved 2019-02-01. <a href="https://www.acm.org/media-center/2019/january/fat-2019" target="_blank">https://www.acm.org/media-center/2019/january/fat-2019</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"ACM FAccT 2020 Sponsors". Retrieved 2019-02-19. <a href="https://facctconference.org/2020/sponsorship.html" target="_blank">https://facctconference.org/2020/sponsorship.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"ACM FAccT Sponsorship Policy". Retrieved 2019-02-19. <a href="https://facctconference.org/sponsorship.html" target="_blank">https://facctconference.org/sponsorship.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Memarian, Bahar; Doleck, Tenzin (2023-01-01). "Fairness, Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics (FATE) in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and higher education: A systematic review". Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence. 5: 100152. doi:10.1016/j.caeai.2023.100152. ISSN 2666-920X. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.caeai.2023.100152" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.caeai.2023.100152</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Levy, Karen; Chasalow, Kyla E.; Riley, Sarah (2021-10-13). "Algorithms and Decision-Making in the Public Sector". Annual Review of Law and Social Science. 17 (1): 309–334. arXiv:2106.03673. doi:10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-041221-023808. ISSN 1550-3585. <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-041221-023808" target="_blank">https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-041221-023808</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"FATE: Fairness, Accountability, Transparency & Ethics in AI". Microsoft Research. Retrieved 2023-11-19. <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/theme/fate/" target="_blank">https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/theme/fate/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>