I totally agree with your thoughts that racism in search results can be equally possibly attributed to a biased algorithm or biased users. Clearly, Google engineers are not working to make software that is explicitly sexist or racist. Instead, such biased results are the product of thousands of users interacting with the search platform, and the…[Read more]

I agree that the Facebook paper’s findings on the <4 degrees of separation is absolutely astonishing. With over 2 billion users, it is crazy to imagine being so close to millions and millions of people in only a few layers out, from only the relatively small network of people you know. You raise a good point in asking “What do we do with it?…[Read more]

I think you’ve proposed a great starting point for an interesting data project on uncovering the systematic biases of the 19th/20th century justice system via trends in the data on ESP’s prisoners. Modern prison data is much much more accurate, encompassing, and accessible; thus, we may be able to find modern studies on racial biases today that…[Read more]

I too had not been to ESP other than for Terror Behind the Walls, and was very excited to see the site in its entirety. Like you, I was equally impressed with the breadth and quality of the audio tour. Though it did dramatize certain recordings with sound effects (clinking, background talking, etc.), it definitely did a great portraying the actual…[Read more]