Bias in peer review: Who is given a voice in science?

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By Clara Raithel

This is the third post in our series about how science is communicated and the consequences thereof.

Whether it is an application for research funding, or a manuscript sent to a scholarly journal for publication, writing is an essential aspect of scientific work. The majority of the resulting output is evaluated by other scientists, in a process referred to as peer review. The ultimate purpose of this evaluation is to ensure the originality, importance, and quality of the academic work before it is executed, or made publicly available. In other words, grants are awarded, and manuscripts are published only when scientific standards are met. As such, peer review represents a critical gatekeeping moment that can define the outcome of entire scientific careers - simply because so much in science depends on the amount of financial resources available, and the number of papers published. However, its consequences reach far beyond an individual’s career: peer review impacts the knowledge produced and shared with the rest of the world – thereby potentially affecting the lives of millions of people.

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Science Civics 101: Re(Building) Trust in Science

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This is the second post in our series about how scientific findings are communicated and the consequences thereof.

“Do your own research.” It sounds harmless, even admirable. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find that this philosophy is a major antagonist in the fight against scientific misinformation.  Anti-vaxxers “did their own research” when they found a Lancet paper (later retracted) that claimed a link between the MMR vaccine and the onset of autism. Despite the paper’s retraction and its claims having no scientific basis, a nationally representative survey conducted in 2019 found that 18% of respondents believed vaccines cause autism. Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug most commonly used in veterinary practice, received attention after a few early studies suggested it might prevent and treat COVID-19 infection. It couldn’t have helped when Joe Rogan, currently the most popular podcast host on Spotify, shared “his own research” and personal belief in ivermectin’s efficacy. The research on ivermectin was later retracted by the author or subject to criticism. Still, due to the initial hyperbolic attention, the CDC reported a 24-fold increase in ivermectin prescriptions in August of 2021 compared to the pre-pandemic baseline. This sharp rise in prescriptions was associated with concern from Poison Centers and the FDA about the number of individuals reporting medical complications and hospitalizations following inappropriate ivermectin use. 

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Strange Notions: How Misconceptions About Women’s Reproductive Health Have Influenced Abortion Policies in the US

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This is the first post in our series about how scientific findings are communicated and the consequences thereof.

“Abortion bans are on the ballot this year, and they are going by the name Doug Mastriano.”

So began a get-out-the-vote advertisement that I, based in Philadelphia, saw multiple times on YouTube in the weeks before the 2022 midterm elections. Similar ads centered on the anti-abortion stances of other Republican candidates for office. Abortion rights loomed large on the ballot last November, following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization barely five months earlier to overturn Roe v. Wade. The Roe decision had limited the ability of state governments to regulate abortion in the first two trimesters, interpreting the 14th Amendment of the Constitution as conferring a right to privacy in such cases. Now, the Dobbs decision declared that the Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion at all, and restricting abortion at any stage of pregnancy is up to the states. 

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What does it mean to be intelligent?

By Sanjana Hemdev & Sonia Roberts

This is the fifth post in a series about artificial intelligence, along with its uses and social/political implications.

“Artificial intelligence” (AI) is ubiquitous in today’s world. From Amazon’s Alexa to Five Nights at Freddy’s, from weather prediction systems to vaccine development, AI is a constant source of both wonder and trepidation in the popular imagination. As development in the field of AI continues at breakneck speeds, we are invited to consider not only how AI can change the physical world, but also how it can change our understanding of what it means to be “intelligent.” Can AI systems truly be considered intelligent in the same way that humans are? If so, by whose definition – if any? In search of answers to these questions, we spoke with Dr. Lisa Miracchi Titus, a Professor of Philosophy and seasoned artificial intelligence expert here at Penn. Dr. Miracchi Titus is affiliated with the GRASP Lab, one of the oldest and most well known robotics labs in the country. “This is a beautiful time to be asking all of these questions,” Dr. Miracchi Titus says. “The technological progress that we’ve made both enables us and requires us to take a step back at this moment of time and ask some pretty foundational questions.”

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Do We Need Policies to Regulate Modern AIs Right Now?

By Hersh Sanghvi

This is the fourth post in a series about artificial intelligence, along with its uses and social/political implications.

For a long time, Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have remained firmly in the domain of research applications and science fiction. This is changing thanks to the emergence of a huge variety of AI devices, from smartphones and wearables to robots and autonomous drones. Many companies are working on AI hardware and software as a way to help businesses and organizations create better, smarter solutions, like personal assistants and self-driving cars. As it advances, AI has begun to have an impact on everyday life. We are starting to see more people using AI-powered devices to help their daily lives. The question is: will it help or hurt us?

The previous paragraph, except the first sentence, was written entirely by a special kind of ML model called a “language model”… Despite recent progress, current AI still has many limitations that can make its widespread use dangerous. In light of this, it’s important to understand what these limitations are and ultimately how we as a society should take action. In particular, we’ll look at two exciting, consumer-facing applications of AI: CV and NLP. To get more insight into this topic, I interviewed Dr. CJ Taylor, professor of Computer and Information Science here at UPenn, whose research focuses on computer vision and robotics.

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A Deep Dive into Deepfakes

By Hannah Kolev

This is the third post in a series about artificial intelligence, along with its uses and social/political implications.

An enchanting video of the Spanish artist Salvador Dalí - who passed away in 1989 - remarking on the current weather with visitors of the Dalí Museum. A video of British soccer star David Beckham speaking nine different languages - only one of which he actually speaks - petitioning world leaders to end malaria. A faked pornographic video used to discredit investigative journalist Rana Ayyub for speaking out against a sex abuse case. In each of these scenarios, deepfake videos were used to dupe their audiences. These deepfakes can be used to ignite the imagination, to inspire change, or to intimidate victims. But what are deepfakes and how are they made? What is their purpose and how are they regulated? We will address these questions in the following blog post.

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AI is only as green as the electricity it uses and the problems it solves

by Shannon Wolfman

This is the second post in a series about artificial intelligence, along with its uses and social/political implications.

If you’ve been following the news on climate change and artificial intelligence over the last few years, you might feel conflicted about the potential for AI to help us in combating global warming. For the most part, mainstream and tech publications either exalt AI as a climate savior or decry AI’s ever-increasing carbon footprint. When both issues are discussed in the same article, the focus is on whether AI is doing more harm than good for the environment.

But AI isn’t inherently carbon-intensive; it’s a tool that has tremendous capabilities for mitigating climate damage, and any technology is only as green as its power source. Considering AI’s climate costs and potential climate benefits as distinct issues and understanding the impacts they have on each other can lead to more coherent conversations about the role that this technology can and should play in our climate future.

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Human Cognition in Artificial Intelligence: Bridging the Gap Between Mind and Machine

By Amanda N. Weiss

This is the first post in a series about artificial intelligence, along with its uses and social/political implications.

When you hear the phrase “artificial intelligence,” many different thoughts may come to mind. Perhaps you think of the helpful internet assistants on your phone and computer. Maybe your mind goes to the villainous computers of science fiction stories, seeking revenge on humanity. Whichever contexts your mind wanders into, it is clear that certain types of artificial intelligences have risen in prominence in both in everyday life and in popular media. At its core, artificial intelligence (AI) is the collection of computers or computational programs that are able to exhibit behaviors we would associate with human intelligence. AI algorithms can analyze data and incorporate new information into future decision-making. However, does the ability to learn in this sense truly constitute intelligence? Could advancements in AI eventually lead to sentient, self-aware computers? Or is there something unique to human psychology that cannot be modeled by algorithms and data processing? These are all questions that arise as we continue to use AI technology in our daily lives. In order to gain experienced insight, I had a conversation with Camilo Fosco, a machine learning PhD student at MIT, about artificial intelligence in the context of his research on computer vision and cognition.

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Government and politics in science and technology policy: a necessary relationship that must not be overlooked

By Wisberty J. Gordián Vélez

This is the second post on the big idea of the role of government funding in scientific research.

Knowledge and technologies that we often take for granted, such as the internet, Google search, global positioning system (GPS) devices and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are the product of federal investments in research and development (R&D). Federally-supported research promotes innovation: 30% of issued patents rely on this support, which includes government-owned patents, patents citing federal funding, or patents citing other supported patents and research. Scientific and technological innovations account for most of the exponential growth in individual income since 1880. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have benefited from vaccines developed in part thanks to decades of federally-supported research. The NIH also partnered with Moderna to develop their vaccine, and the Trump administration allocated billions of dollars to develop and manufacture vaccines. The science and technology (S&T) output of the country is directly tied to our individual and collective wellbeing, and the government plays an irreplaceable and necessary role in creating policies that determine what is achieved. In this blog, I explore federal funding of R&D and S&T policy in the U.S., and talk about this with Dr. Kenneth Evans, an S&T policy scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and a member of the project staff for a report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences titled “The Perils of Complacency: America at a Tipping Point in Science & Engineering”.

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More than bleaching: coral cells in hot water

By Lulu Allen-Walker

This is a guest post from contributing author Lulu Allen-Walker. If you are interested in contributing an entry, please contact PSPDG.

The headlines roll in like waves, more every year. Half of the great barrier reef is dead. Reefs are battered by climate change and look “ravaged by war.” But how does ocean warming actually affect how corals function? And can some corals take the heat? I’m on a research team at Penn Biology that’s trying to find answers. Our newest results suggest that heat-stressed corals slow their metabolisms and lose the power to regulate their cellular chemistry – even if they appear healthy at first glance.

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The Role of the United States Government in Funding STEM Research: A Brief History

By Amanda N. Weiss

This is the first post on the big idea of the role of government funding in scientific research.

The United States gained its independence as a country near the start of the first Industrial Revolution. Thus, perhaps unsurprisingly, technological research has been an element of our society for much of its existence. As the country has grown and advanced, it has undergone changes in global involvements and societal priorities, and these have been reflected in the STEM research that the federal government promotes and funds. I recently spoke with Dr. Thomas Cornell, a professor of Science, Technology, and Society at the Rochester Institute of Technology, who offered insight into the ways that government funding of STEM research in the United States has changed over time, especially during periods of upheaval such as the World Wars.

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Political polarization and bias during the COVID-19 pandemic

By Wisberty J. Gordián Vélez

This is our third post on the big idea of confirmation bias.

The United States is experiencing an unprecedented intermingling of crises: job losses not seen since World War II, a pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 Americans, and political division that led to an attack on the Capitol. These crises have heightened our understanding of the role of politics and policy in our lives, as reflected by the record levels of votes cast and turnout in the 2020 election. This historic engagement has been driven in part by political polarization, a phenomenon in which the beliefs of different groups regarding policy, ideology, and political institutions become increasingly oppositional. When driven to extremes, it can impair democracy and the implementation of policies that address society’s problems. Voters are now more likely to dislike the other side and see it as an existential threat to the country at levels exceeding differences in policy opinions. Political scientists have argued that polarization has been fomented by the nationalization of politics and by parties becoming more homogeneous and identifiable with specific policies, social views, race, religion, ideology, and identity. Policymakers also contribute with how they communicate and act in response to a polarized electorate to maintain their power. Every disagreement is a battle to the death between two sides, where cooperation is impossible and no victory is secure. This high-stakes feeling is reflected in the small margins and few districts or states that determine control of Congress and the presidency. As people retreat to their corners, the two parties are differentiated further and polarization is reinforced in a vicious cycle.

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Bias in machine learning models

By Sonia Roberts

This is the second post on the big idea of confirmation bias.

“Confirmation bias” refers to a characteristically human weakness: The tendency to favor information that supports what we already believe. But if we aren’t careful, biases can also pop up in systems that use machine learning tools. Let’s say you want to develop a tool to determine the locations in a city where more crimes are committed so that you can alert the police to send more officers to those locations. The tool is trained using existing police reports. More crimes are reported in the locations where there are more officers, because officers are the ones filing reports. Thus, the tool learns that more crimes are committed in the places that already have a greater density of police officers, and keeps advising the police force to send officers to those locations. There could be other parts of the city with lots of crimes that are not being reported, but the tool will never learn about those crimes -- they simply don’t appear in the dataset. This could create a feedback loop that looks and behaves a lot like confirmation bias does in humans.

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The evolutionary advantages and social pitfalls of confirmation bias

By Amanda N. Weiss

This is the first post on the big idea of confirmation bias.

In a world with an overwhelming abundance of information and opinions, it is no surprise that we do not take it all in and instead must devote our attention to a select subset of information . But, as with every instance of selective information-seeking, we risk our cognitive biases preventing us from forming a well rounded and well reasoned mental model of the world. Confirmation bias, the tendency to seek out information that agrees with our beliefs and reject that which opposes them, is one such element of our psychology. I recently had a discussion with Dr. Tali Sharot, the director of the Affective Brain Lab at the University College London, about her work on the neuroscience of information-seeking and how it relates to confirmation bias. Dr. Sharot is especially interested in figuring out why we engage in behaviors that seem arational (not based on reason), as opposed to those with clear purposes.

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2020 blog format!

For 2020, we here at the PSPDG blog are going to try something a little bit different. Instead of having one-off posts by individual authors, we are going to try posting a series of entries that all touch on the same big idea from the perspective of different fields. Each writer on our team will interview experts from one area and ask them questions about how their research relates to the big theme. We hope you enjoy this in-depth examination of big ideas from multiple perspective.

Where Does Science Fit on Capitol Hill?

AAAS

As Dr. Lucy Jones remarked in the closing lecture of the AAAS meeting, it is insufficient to bring science to the table, as we must go further to activate it. Activated science is relevant, it is understandable, and it is actionable. Simply explaining scientific information is not always what is needed at a given moment, especially if it doesn’t directly lead to realistic next steps.

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