A Citizen’s Guide to Big Data

The contemporary landscape of information is confounding. Citizens today face unprecedented dilemmas concerning the quantity as well as quality of data, from the veracity of news stories to the security of retail transactions. We fear that we are being tracked down to our every move online, in our cars and homes, and in our medical records. But are there benefits to be had as well? How can data and its use be understood by information scientists, let alone the rest of us, when algorithms create their own opaque understanding with their own biases? This panel will orient its audience to the forms of data and data science gaining authority over official decision making, and panelists will discuss ways to uncover and understand these new sources of information.

FREE but RSVP by calling 919.962.2643 or emailing conradj@email.unc.edu

Panelists Include:

Michele Hayslett, Data Management Librarian, Davis Library Research Hub; Adjunct Faculty, UNC School of Information and Library Science

Paul Jones Clinical Professor and MSIS Program Coordinator, UNC School of Information and Library Science

Arcot Rajasekar Professor, UNC School of Information and Library Science; Chief Scientist at the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI)

Ryan Shaw, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Coordinator, UNC School of Information and Library Science

Moderated by Neal Thomas, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication

More info can be found at: http://fridaycenter.unc.edu/noncreditprograms/fake-news/