DASH’s The Human in the Data Initiative focuses on the ubiquity of Big Data and algorithmic decision making in every major sector in our world.  Experts from different fields apply sophisticated algorithms to extract insights from data sets, and expectations are high that these insights will aid decision making in areas such as health, food, energy, education, environment and social policy.  The use of quantitative data for decision-making has 19th-century roots, but in the 20th and 21st centuries, new technology has enabled more complex collection and application of large datasets. When represented by numbers and numerical proxies, individuals and social relationships are abstracted and obscured to both researchers and end users.  Yet data is used to explain, predict, and direct human behavior and define research agendas.

Join us as we seek to critically engage with the humanistic dimensions of this significant cultural shift.