WiDS Cambridge, co-hosted by the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, recognizes and empowers women in STEM across a variety of disciplines.
WiDS Cambridge, co-hosted by the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, recognized and empowered women in STEM across a variety of disciplines.
Photo: Dana J. Quigley Photography
What do radiation waves from space, the U.S. Census, and the human genome have in common? All three, like so many things today, involve massive amounts of data. These data can unlock insights and lead to new solutions and better decision-making - for those who have the knowledge and tools to analyze it.
The impressive variety of applications for data science tools and techniques were on display at the Women in Data Science Conference (WiDS Cambridge), held at the Microsoft NERD Center in early March, before MIT and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts began to de-densify in response to the Covid-19 emergency. Co-hosted by the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS), the Harvard Institute for Applied Computational Science, and Microsoft Research New England, WiDS Cambridge is one of dozens of satellite WiDS events around the world. The program showcases women who are not only using data science tools in their research or business, but who are leaders refining those tools and recruiting more women into the field.
The day's signature event was a panel discussion on data science and fake news called "Data weaponized, data scrutinized: a war on information." The panel was moderated by Manon Revel, a doctoral student in the IDSS Social and Engineering Systems (SES) program whose research has analyzed popup ads to see how exposure influences readers' assessment of news credibility. Addressing current challenges, Manon shared: "Understanding the effect of false information and combatting it is crucial. It requires thinking through the technology design, but also the regulatory framework and the political and social context."
The panel also included Camille Francois, chief information officer for Graphika, a social network analysis startup that uses AI to understand online communities. "We don't know how to measure the impact of foreign interference for many complicated reasons," said Francois. "The aim of a foreign interference campaign is not necessarily to impact a vote. It's to divide, it's to confuse, and it's to create chaos. How do you measure chaos?"
