"Unbiased: Challenges and contradictions in defining a fair society." - The Annual Hicks Lecture 2025
Measuring and combatting bias has been a central focus of policy and research in domains including employment, courts, news, medicine, college admissions, and AI. Yet notions of a what it means for a decision to be unbiased remain contested and often contradictory. I present a unified framework to define notions of bias and lack of bias across these and other domains, consider when “unbiased” is (or often isn’t) a helpful concept, relate these definitions to empirical evidence, and draw lessons for those seeking to combat harmful biases in society.
Date: 28 May 2025, 17:30
Venue: Manor Road Building, Manor Road OX1 3UQ
Venue Details: In-person or online. Please register.
Speaker: Matthew Gentzkow (Stanford University)
Organising department: Department of Economics
Organiser contact email address: events@economics.ox.ac.uk
Booking required?: Required
Booking url: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/department-of-economics-university-of-oxford/annual-hicks-lecture-with-matthew-gentzkow-stamford/2025-05-28/17:30/t-gakpkqn
Cost: FREE
Audience: Public
Editor: Emma Heritage