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Will engineered carbon removal solve the climate crisis?

A new IIASA-led study investigated the potential of engineered Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies, such as Direct Air Capture of CO2 (DACCS), to help bridge the gap between current emissions reductions and ambitious climate goals. The study found that novel CDR can keep pre-Paris climate targets within reach when accounting for ...

SourceInternational Institute for Applied Systems Analysis·JournalEnvironmental Research Letters·DateJun 22, 2023

Tetris reveals how people respond to unfair AI

A Cornell University-led study using the Tetris game found that players who receive fewer turns perceive their partner as less likable, regardless of whether a human or AI allocates the turns. The researchers also discovered that machine allocation behavior can lead to worse performance and gameplay when fairness is not guaranteed.

SourceCornell University·JournalComputers in Human Behavior·DateMay 15, 2023

What makes someone likely to be a first-gen college grad? Money

A new study reveals that first-generation college graduates often originate from more affluent families with greater resources. This challenges the notion of a meritocracy, where success is solely based on individual effort. The research highlights the significant advantage these students have due to their family's socioeconomic status.

SourceNorth Carolina State University·JournalSociological Quarterly·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateApr 21, 2023

Explanations of artificial intelligence: Author proposes model that highlights evidence of fairness

A Carnegie Mellon University professor proposes a new AI model that highlights the evidence of fairness in decision-making. The model provides counterfactual explanations to demonstrate whether past decisions were fair or biased. This research has practical implications for legislative efforts, industry norms, and AI model evaluation.

SourceCarnegie Mellon University·JournalFrontiers in Psychology·DateFeb 21, 2023

Strengthening ecology and conservation in the Global South

An international research team from the Global South emphasizes the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in tropical ecology and conservation. They suggest ten actions for researchers living in the Global South to improve their inclusivity and participation in international research collaborations.

SourceUniversity of Göttingen·JournalPerspectives in Ecology and Conservation·TypeCommentary/editorial·DateFeb 15, 2023

Horrible bosses cause ‘race to the bottom’ - study

A new study by Anglia Ruskin University found that hostile behavior from leaders can lead to co-workers adopting similar behavior, creating a toxic workplace environment. The research also discovered an association between experiencing hostile behavior and emotional exhaustion, job insecurity, and abusive peer behavior.

SourceAnglia Ruskin University·JournalFrontiers in Psychology·TypeSurvey·DateSep 30, 2022

Do humans think computers make fair decisions?

A study published in Cell Press found that when humans are involved, computer decisions are perceived as fairer. Participants deemed decisions related to positive outcomes fairer than negative ones and had concerns over fairness in systems with higher stakes. The results suggest that automated decision-making systems need careful desig...

SourceCell Press·JournalPatterns·TypeExperimental study·DateSep 29, 2022

In bias we trust?

Researchers at MIT found that explanation methods used to aid human decision-makers in high-stakes situations often have lower accuracy for minoritized subgroups. The fidelity of these explanations varies dramatically between subgroups, with the quality often significantly lower for women and Black people.

Study chronicles presence of chronic frames of race, gender, and wealth inequality

New research finds that journalists and laypersons describe racial and gender inequalities in terms of disadvantage, while wealth inequality is described in terms of advantage. The framing of inequalities is linked to their perceived legitimacy, with illegitimate inequalities being framed more strongly as disadvantages.

SourceCarnegie Mellon University·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·DateMay 18, 2022

Study: Lawyers’ “game framing” of negotiations associated with lower moral character and less honesty

A study by Carnegie Mellon University researchers found that lawyers who view negotiation as a game, with arbitrary rules, are less willing to disclose honest information. Lawyers with higher moral character are more likely to adopt an ethical approach, while those with lower moral character are more prone to game framing.

SourceCarnegie Mellon University·JournalNegotiation Journal·DateApr 27, 2022

Study shows sharing behavior among young children may be related to their counting skills

A new study found that symbolic counting skills are strongly related to young children's fair sharing behavior. Researchers developed a counting intervention that improved sharing behavior in preschoolers, suggesting that learning to count may be a key factor in developing this social skill.

SourceSociety for Research in Child Development·JournalChild Development·TypeObservational study·DateApr 27, 2022

Clinicians grapple with decisions in crisis-care simulation

A simulated crisis-care event revealed the moral distress experienced by triage team members who had to prioritize patients for scarce resources. The study aimed to operationalize a process for making life-and-death patient decisions, but triage-team members struggled with balancing individual patient needs with fair resource allocation.

SourceUniversity of Washington School of Medicine/UW Medicine·JournalJAMA Network Open·TypeSurvey·DateApr 18, 2022

Open for single workers only? Point-based immigration increases poverty risks for migrant families

A new study by the University of Southampton finds that skilled overseas workers with families face a higher risk of poverty than UK workers and their net incomes are lower under the UK's points-based immigration system. The researchers warn that this could make the UK less attractive for overseas workers who could fill skills gaps.

SourceUniversity of Southampton·JournalJournal of Poverty and Social Justice·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateFeb 10, 2022

Judging the gymnastics judges

Researchers developed a new statistical engine to evaluate gymnastics judges' accuracy and fairness. The study found that some judges are significantly better than others at judging, with the best-trained judges being only two to three times more accurate than their peers.

SourceDe Gruyter·JournalJournal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateOct 22, 2021

Experiences in prison reduce perceptions of corrections officers’ fairness, regardless of time served

A new study found that most incarcerated individuals' in-prison experiences lessen their perceptions of procedural justice and fairness, regardless of the length of time served. The research used a nationally representative sample of over 31,000 adults and examined various in-prison experiences on inmates' perceptions of staff members'...

SourceCrime and Justice Research Alliance·JournalJustice Quarterly·DateOct 22, 2021

Machine learning can be fair and accurate

A recent study published in Nature Machine Intelligence challenges the long-held assumption that accuracy and fairness are mutually exclusive in machine learning. Researchers found that optimizing models for accuracy does not necessarily compromise fairness, particularly when adjustments are made to data, labels, and scoring systems.

SourceCarnegie Mellon University·JournalNature Machine Intelligence·DateOct 20, 2021

The growing threat of wildfires in America

A study by Matthew Auer highlights the need for community-led wildfire protection plans to address growing threats, particularly among low-income households. These plans can provide educational resources, fire-resistant home construction, and access to funding.

SourceUniversity of Georgia·JournalSustainability Science·DateSep 8, 2021

Victims’ gender, race, and child status affected decisions about death penalty in Pennsylvania

A study examining Pennsylvania death penalty cases found that victim's gender and race affected every outcome. Cases with white female, male or black male victims were more likely to receive a death sentence than those with black female victims. The study also found that prosecutors were more likely to seek the death penalty in cases w...

SourceCrime and Justice Research Alliance·JournalJustice Quarterly·DateAug 18, 2021

More 'fairness' needed in conservation

Researchers found that local stakeholders consider fairness in distribution of money from marine protected areas according to who holds rights over the area, rather than equality or costs incurred. This challenges common assumptions in conservation literature and practice, emphasizing the importance of explicit identification of local ...

SourceARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies·JournalEnvironmental Science & Policy·DateJun 9, 2021

Fairness 'important - but not enough'

Researchers discovered that fair treatment alone is insufficient to foster a sense of value in groups; instead, recognizing individual talents and qualities provides a sense of inclusion while promoting mental health. This approach complements the idea of 'fitting in' by allowing individuals to stand out and feel valuable.

SourceUniversity of Exeter·JournalPLOS ONE·DateMay 14, 2021

Supervisors focused on others' needs get 'benefit of the doubt' from employees

Employees perceive prosocially motivated supervisors as fairer and are more likely to give them the benefit of the doubt, even when they make mistakes. Research from the University of Notre Dame found that supervisor motives impact fairness judgments and that focusing on prosocial motives can buffer the negative effects of low justice ...

SourceUniversity of Notre Dame·JournalJournal of Applied Psychology·DateApr 26, 2021

Teaching AI what's fair

A team led by Michigan State University's Pang-Ning Tan is working to make artificial intelligence algorithms more fair and aware of their potential biases. They're developing a definition of fairness that considers perspectives from groups of people, rather than just individual outcomes.

Restaurant customers frown on automatic gratuities, particularly after good service

Customers with excellent dining experiences express the most dissatisfaction with automatic gratuities. Research found that high-quality service does not compensate for negative customer responses to non-voluntary tipping systems. Restaurants can explore ways to give customers a sense of control, such as providing feedback or adding se...

SourceWashington State University·JournalJournal of Services Marketing·DateAug 10, 2020

Algorithm for preventing 'undesirable behavior' works in gender fairness and health tests

A new framework for designing machine learning algorithms helps prevent undesirable behavior, including biases in medical diagnoses and financial predictions. The approach shifts the burden from users to designers, making it easier to create 'well-behaved' algorithms without requiring extensive domain knowledge or complex data analysis.

New algorithms train AI to avoid specific bad behaviors

Researchers at Stanford and UMass Amherst develop a new technique to create machine-learning algorithms that can learn to avoid undesirable outcomes such as gender bias and excessive risk. Their approach, called the Seldonian algorithm, enables users to specify what behaviors they want an AI system to avoid with high probability.

SourceStanford University·JournalScience·DateNov 21, 2019