LOCATION
Bloomberg Center, Cornell Tech
2 West Loop Road
New York, NY 10044
February 20, 2018
Reception: 5:30pm-6:30pm
Talk: 6:30pm-7:30pm
Every field has data. We use data to discover new knowledge, to interpret the world, to make decisions, and even to predict the future. The recent convergence of big data, cloud computing, and novel machine learning algorithms and statistical methods is causing an explosive interest in data science and its applicability to all fields. This convergence has already enabled the automation of some tasks that better human performance. The novel capabilities we derive from data science will drive our cars, treat disease, and keep us safe. At the same time, such capabilities risk leading to biased, inappropriate, or unintended action. The design of data science solutions requires both excellence in the fundamentals of the field and expertise to develop applications which meet human challenges without creating even greater risk.
The Data Science Institute at Columbia University promotes “Data for Good”: using data to address societal challenges and bringing humanistic perspectives as—not after—new science and technology is invented. Started in 2012, the Institute is now a university-level institute representing over 250 affiliated faculty from 12 different schools across campus. Data science literally touches every corner of the university.
In this talk, Jeannette Wing, Director of the Data Science Institute, will present the vision on how the Institute plans to address some of the key challenges and opportunities of data science, highlighting educational and research activities, as well as future initiatives that may directly impact the data science community at Columbia, New York City, and beyond.