Wesleyan University Pros and Cons?

I’m sorry, but their methodology sucks, and they don’t actually understand what they’re doing.

To quote:

So my wife leads one of the largest data institutes in the country, and laughed long and hard at this.

First of all:
Every single ranking systems uses algorithms. An “algorithm” is just a set of rules that a person writes.

Algorithm for putting a giraffe into the refrigerator:

  1. Open refrigerator
  2. Grab giraffe
  3. Place giraffe in refrigerator.

There, I wrote an algorithm. Now magically, if I program this to a computer is will put a giraffe into my computer, right? After all, it’s an algorithm, and that the same as “magic spell”, but for computers, right?

Second:
A biased person will write algorithms which produce biased results. Just because a computer follows the biased instructions doesn’t magically erase the bias inherent in the algorithm

Third:
Databases are mostly biased, and even an unbiased algorithm will have biased results,if it is used on a biased database. More generally, GIGO.

So no, just because they’re using AI or “machine learning” doesn’t mean that they are magically free of bias.

I could think of a dozen ways offhand by which their results would be far more biased than anything done by USNews.

I’m getting REALLY tired of what I will now call Computational Gaslighting.

“It’s not biased because it was done by a COMPUTER, and computers aren’t inherently biased, right?! So it’s scientific truth, and we have to accept it!”

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