The Brilliant article: How one scientist is cleaning up the world’s dirty data

Centre Director Professor Shazia Sadiq was featured in this piece by The Brilliant looking at how data underlying algorithms is collected and the biases embedded in them. The way to disrupt this cycle of bias is information resilience, which means understanding how information is collected, and identifying all opportunities for bias to be introduced.

When Amazon developed an automated recruitment tool, the hope was that an unbiased, logical algorithm could read a CV and identify the best candidates. The algorithm turned out to be an engine of sexism, which was not only biased towards male resumes, but actively downgraded candidates if they came from one of two women’s universities in the USA. The problem was that the tool sought applicants whose CVs resembled previously successful job seekers; as most of these were men, the algorithm learned to reject women. It was stunning proof that algorithms are not neutral. They work according to the biases of the people who program them – a problem that computer scientist and Professor Shazia Sadiq is acutely conscious of.

Read the full feature article from The Brilliant here.

Associate Professor Hongzhi Yin awarded ARC Future Fellowship

Congratulations to University of Queensland Researcher and Centre Chief Investigator Associate Professor Hongzhi Yin who has been awarded a prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship for the project “Decentralised Collaborative Predictive Analytics on Personal Smart Devices”. The 2021 ARC Future Fellowships scheme will see 100 new research projects funded at universities around Australia, focused on areas of national priority. Future Fellowships provide successful researchers with an opportunity to dedicate four years to their research endeavours in Australia. Hongzhi’s project will tackle the challenging problem of personalised predictive analytics with resource-constrained personal devices and massive-scale data.

See the full ARC media release here.

Momentum Article: Fixing data gone wrong

The top 5 capabilities all businesses need to build an information resilience plan

Recent industry reports identify ‘data gone wrong’ as the biggest risk factor for emerging digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and autonomous decision making. However, with the right planning, a business can build information resilience to make embracing new technologies less risky, according to Centre Director Professor Shazia Sadiq. Read the full article in Momentum, The University of Queensland’s Business School magazine.

First Round of PhD Scholarships

Applications closed 12 September 2021.

Be the first to know about the next round of CIRES PhD Scholarship opportunities, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 


We’re recruiting! 5 PhD positions available.

CIRES is seeking highly motivated PhD researchers to join the Centre for exciting projects with the following industry partners: Queensland Health, Queensland Police Service, and Max Kelsen.

This is an opportunity to be part of an innovative HDR training program. As a PhD researcher with CIRES, you will have the opportunity to work collaboratively with university and industry partner supervisors on research with real world impact. During your degree, you will undertake a one-year placement with the industry partner.

We offer a generous scholarship package of $34,627 per annum (2021 rate) and top up scholarships from $5,000 per annum. We are now recruiting for the following projects. All positions are based at the University of Queensland’s St Lucia Campus. Applications close 12th September 2021.

For full details and how to apply visit our Study With Us page

If you have any questions about CIRES or applying for these projects, please contact our Centre Manager Kate Aldridge k.aldridge@uq.edu.au

 

Centre for Information Resilience Commences!

We are delighted to announce that the Australian Research Council’s Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Information Resilience (CIRES) has officially commenced. Our Collaborative Research Agreement has been finalised and our important work can begin.

CIRES aims to build workforce capacity in Australian organisations and help them achieve information resilience. Our Centre brings together end-users, technology providers, and cutting-edge research, to lift the socio-technical barriers to data driven transformation. We will train a new generation of research leaders in collaboration with our Industry Partners: Aginic, Astral, Allianz Partners, Health & Wellbeing Queensland, Max Kelsen, Queensland Department of Education, Queensland Health, and the Queensland Police Service.