More Info
+ my interests
My research interests center around computing practices in social prediction systems, including:
- computational social science research
- government and public-interest technologies
- commercial A.I. tools
In particular, I'm thinking about the mathematical operationalization of social constructs, its limitations, and the factors that mediate this translation process— including measurement, power, and law.
I'm also interested in datafication and quantification in policy-making and public administration. Within this area, I am currently exploring state data collection practices, government procurement of algorithmic technologies, and the rise of "evidence-based policy" in academic public policy.
work in progress
- Public Administration.
Amina Abdu & Abigail Z. Jacobs. In Burrell, J., R. Singh, and P. Davison (eds.), Keywords on the Datafied State. Data & Society.
- Transparency, Technocracy, and Trust in Participatory Algorithmic Governance: Lessons Learned from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Implementation of Differential Privacy.
Amina Abdu*, Lauren Chambers*, Abigail Z. Jacobs & Deirdre K. Mulligan.
- Presented at Data (Re)Makes the World Conference, Information Society Project at Yale Law School (2023)
- Presented at Privacy Law Scholars Conference (2023)
publications
- An Empirical Analysis of Racial Categories in the Algorithmic Fairness Literature. [arXiv, proceedings]
Amina A. Abdu, Irene V. Pasquetto & Abigail Z. Jacobs. ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability and Transparency (FAccT). 2023.
other writing
* denotes equal contribution
+ in a previous life...
I received my B.A. in mathematics and economics from Pomona College in Claremont, CA.
After graduating, I spent some time in academia doing empirical health economics research at the Harvard Kennedy School and then in tech policy working on antitrust advocacy at the Consumer Federation of America.
These experiences shaped my current interest in the role of computation in both social science scholarship and governance.
Recent Updates
- august 2023 - I successfully defended my field prelim about quantification and legitimacy in U.S. public administration. I am now a Ph.D. candidate!
- june 2023 - I am excited to present our work on the adoption of racial categories in algorithmic fairness research at FAccT in Chicago, IL (joint with Irene Pasquetto & Abigail Jacobs). This is my first paper :-)
- june 2023 - We will be presenting our work on the Census Bureau's adoption of differential privacy at the Privacy Law Scholars Conference (PLSC) in Boulder, CO (joint with Lauren Chambers, Abigail Jacobs & Deirdre Mulligan).
- + older updates
- march 2023 - I am attending the Data (Re)Makes the World Conference in New Haven, CT. We will be presenting work on the Census Bureau's implementation of differential privacy (joint work with Lauren Chambers, Abigail Jacobs & Deirdre Mulligan).
- december 2022 - february 2023 - I am excited to join the Federation of American Scientists and Kapor Center's Racial Equity in Tech Policy Accelerator.
- november 2022 - I am participating in CSCW's Critical Public Interest Tech Workshop.
- november 2022 - I am giving a guest lecture in SI 110: Introduction to Information about data science methods and ethics.
- june 2022 - I am attending the Doctoral Consortium at FAccT in Seoul, SK.
- november 2021/february 2022 - I am participating (virtually) in the Everyday Misinformation workshop at UIUC.
- august 2021 - I started my Ph.D. at UMSI!
