Events

Forum #1: Fairness and Accountability

The Task Force held its first forum on Tuesday, April 30th at New York Law School. The forum focused on the first three core components from Local Law 49 of 2018 about fairness and accountability: 1) Development of criteria for deciding which systems are considered within the purview of this Task Force and its recommendations; 2) a process for the City to determine if an ADS has disproportionate impact on an individual or population on the basis of characteristics like race or gender; and 3) a process for addressing instances of harm due to such disproportionate impact.

Panelists:

• Natalie Evans Harris, Co-Founder and Head of Strategic Initiatives, BrightHive
• Sarah Kaufman, Associate Director, New York University Rudin Center for Transportation
• Janai Nelson, Associate Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
• Andrew Nicklin, Futurist-At-Large, Johns Hopkins University Center for Government Excellence
• Ginger Zielinskie, President & CEO, Benefits Data Trust

Watch: Video of the event is available online.
Transcript: Download the transcript

Panelist Comment(s)/Presentation(s):

• Andrew Nicklin, Futurist-At-Large, Johns Hopkins University Center for Government Excellence
• Sarah Kaufman, Associate Director, New York University Rudin Center for Transportation
• Janai Nelson, Associate Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

Forum #2: Transparency

The New York City Automated Decision Systems Task held its second public forum on Thursday, May 30 at New York Law School. At this forum, the Task Force presented a brief update on their work to date, and invited expert panelists to provide commentary that will contribute to the Task Force's recommendations. The forum focused on the three core components from Local Law 49 of 2018 about transparency: 1) processes by which impacted people can request information about ADS; 2) strategies for publically disclosing information about those systems; and 3) a feasibility analysis of archiving agency systems. Panelists included:

• Chancey Fleet, Fellow, Data & Society and Assistive Technology Coordinator, Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, New York Public Library
• Aaron Pallas, Professor of Sociology and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
• Rumman Chowdhury, Senior Principal, Global Lead of Ethical Artificial Intelligence, Accenture

The forum included a public comment period. The Task Force welcomes all New Yorkers to submit written commentary to ADSTaskForce@cityhall.nyc.gov.

Discussion Questions

• Are there systems or areas where you think the City could/should deliver services by using technology?
• Are there systems or areas where you would be concerned about the City using these types of technologies?
• What kind of information would you want to know about a system that makes decisions that might affect you or your community?
• Who and what organizations would you trust to be involved in deciding whether these systems get used or what information about them is made public?

Watch: Video of the event is available online.
Transcript: Download the transcript

Panelist Comment(s)/Presentation(s):

• Aaron Pallas, Professor of Sociology and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University