Algorithmic Bias? An Empirical Study of Apparent Gender-Based Discrimination in the Display of STEM Career Ads

被引:340
作者
Lambrecht, Anja [1 ]
Tucker, Catherine [2 ]
机构
[1] London Business Sch, Mkt, London NW1 4SA, England
[2] MIT, Mkt, Cambridge, MA 02142 USA
基金
美国国家科学基金会;
关键词
algorithmic bias; online advertising; algorithms; artificial intelligence; FEMALE; WOMEN; TECHNOLOGY; MODELS;
D O I
10.1287/mnsc.2018.3093
中图分类号
C93 [管理学];
学科分类号
12 ; 1201 ; 1202 ; 120202 ;
摘要
We explore data from a field test of how an algorithm delivered ads promoting job opportunities in the science, technology, engineering and math fields. This ad was explicitly intended to be gender neutral in its delivery. Empirically, however, fewer women saw the ad than men. This happened because younger women are a prized demographic and are more expensive to show ads to. An algorithm that simply optimizes cost-effectiveness in ad delivery will deliver ads that were intended to be gender neutral in an apparently discriminatory way, because of crowding out. We show that this empirical regularity extends to other major digital platforms.
引用
收藏
页码:2966 / 2981
页数:16
相关论文
共 37 条
  • [11] Sex-based differences in school content and the male-female wage gap
    Brown, C
    Corcoran, M
    [J]. JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS, 1997, 15 (03) : 431 - 465
  • [12] Do Female and Male Role Models Who Embody STEM Stereotypes Hinder Women's Anticipated Success in STEM?
    Cheryan, Sapna
    Siy, John Oliver
    Vichayapai, Marissa
    Drury, Benjamin J.
    Kim, Saenam
    [J]. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE, 2011, 2 (06) : 656 - 664
  • [13] Cowgill B, 2017, WORKING PAPER
  • [14] Datta Amit, 2015, Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies, V1, P92, DOI 10.1515/popets-2015-0007
  • [15] Seeking Congruity Between Goals and Roles: A New Look at Why Women Opt Out of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Careers
    Diekman, Amanda B.
    Brown, Elizabeth R.
    Johnston, Amanda M.
    Clark, Emily K.
    [J]. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 2010, 21 (08) : 1051 - 1057
  • [16] Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy: Evidence from a Field Experiment
    Edelman, Benjamin
    Luca, Michael
    Svirsky, Dan
    [J]. AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS, 2017, 9 (02) : 1 - 22
  • [17] Facebook Business, 2015, SHOW REL SCOR ADS FA
  • [18] COMPARISON OF 2 LOGIT MODELS IN THE ANALYSIS OF QUALITATIVE MARKETING DATA
    FLATH, D
    LEONARD, EW
    [J]. JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH, 1979, 16 (04) : 533 - 538
  • [19] Ghosh A, 2009, LECT NOTES COMPUT SC, V5929, P208, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-10841-9_20
  • [20] Search Engine Advertising: Channel Substitution When Pricing Ads to Context
    Goldfarb, Avi
    Tucker, Catherine E.
    [J]. MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, 2011, 57 (03) : 458 - 470