Philosophy Question

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Important Guidelines

– This is NOT a research paper. Essays must engage arguments from the assigned reading/watching in Weeks 6-7

-No outside materials are permitted. The goal is to promote independent thought based on the assigned materials.

-Format your essay as closely to MLA format as possible: 12 point font, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, double spaced

Academic Dishonesty

-Don’t plagiarize—it’s not worth it. If I am suspicious of academic dishonesty, then I will check the assignment for plagiarism with Turnitin.com and GPTZero. Depending on the severity, plagiarized essays will likely receive 0/100 points and will be ineligible for revision.

Essay Prompt (800-1,000 words)

  • Context: Like many institutions, colleges and universities are starting to use predictive analytics tools to make a variety of decisions, including to whom they should offer admission. Given that directly measuring whether or not a prospective student is a “good fit” is impossible, an admissions algorithm would have to rely on measurable proxy variables as its inputs. As DJ Pangburn reports proponents of these tools argue that they offer powerful means of avoiding human bias in admissions processes. On the other hand, critics make the opposite case: they argue that data-driven tools often perpetuate bias, while giving the decisions reached a veneer of mathematical neutrality and objectivity.
  • Thesis: Consider the stakeholders involved in the conversation. Establish a clear position on whether colleges and universities should adopt predictive analytics tools as part of their admissions process.
  • Content, Organization, and Formatting: Essays must address the topics in the bullet-point list below AND they must be organized using the three-part essay outline located further down this page. Depending on your thesis, you will include responses to the list of topics below in different sections of the essay; do not simply respond to these questions in order.
  • Explain what admissions algorithms are optimizing for. In other words, what is their definition of “success”?
  • Explain why Cathy O’Neil considers the US News college ranking a “weapon of math destruction” (WMD) and how this influences college admission decisions. Be sure to briefly explain what a WMD is.
  • Engage your opposition (See Section 2 of the essay outline below).
  • Describe two proxy variables that would be unfair (and therefore not useful) for admissions decisions. For each proxy variable, (1) explain why using the proxy would be unfair and (2) explain how using the proxy contributes to one of the three biases we discussed (interaction bias, latent bias, and selection bias). Make sure each proxy contributes to a different bias so that your essay explores two of the three biases we discussed in class.
  • Describe two proxy variables that could potentially be useful and fair to use in making college admissions decisions and explain why they are useful.
  • MLA Format and Citations: Your essay must cite supporting evidence from the Cathy O’Neil readings and the DJ Pangburn article. The essay outline below specifies how many citations to include in each section. However, I am also judging the quality of the supporting evidence and how well it supports your main claims and strengthens the overall argument.
    • Avoid general, vague, and extra long quotations:
      • In fact, it often makes more sense to avoid directly quoting the material altogether. Instead, you might want to summarize the information and then cite the source. Keep in mind that the goal is to use information and examples from the readings to support the main claims in your argument.
      • Summary versus Analysis:
        • A strong analysis will explain how and why something is the way that it is, as opposed to a summary that just explains that it is that way
        • MLA format guideLinks to an external site. for the entire documentHere is the Works Cited information for the assigned reading:3 types of bias in AI | Machine learning.” YouTube, uploaded by Google, 25 August 2017.
          O’Neil, Cathy. Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy. Penguin Random House, 2017.
          Pangburn, DJ. Schools Are Using Software to Help Pick Who Gets in. What Could Go Wrong?Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/90342596/schools-are-quietly-turning-to-ai-to-help-pickwho-gets-in-what-could-go-wrong. Accessed day month year.

          Essays Must Follow This Three-Part Essay Outline:

        • 1. Introduction:
        • Thesis: Your response to the prompt question is your thesis: which position do you support and why? Be sure to click the link above to see what makes a complete philosophy thesis. The introduction should avoid vague, flowery prose. Be concise and efficient with words–the introduction is only worth 5 points on the rubric.Focus on (a) introducing the context or problem for this prompt, (b) what you will claim (thesis), and (c) how you will support your reasoning (a brief roadmap of the main argument or a short explanation of the reasoning to support your thesis)
      • 2.Engage the Opposition
        • Consider the opposition’s best reasons and evidence in support of their thesis.
          Include a clear transition at the beginning of Section 2, so the audience knows that this is the opposition’s view that you will respond to in Section 3. For example, “Predictive analytics are used in college admissions because it’s an expensive, time-consuming activity and admissions committees have the potential to be biased. Proponents of these admissions algorithms claim ABC because XYZ.” Beginning with the opposing view serves as a springboard for your own analysis in Section 3, where you will synthesize your own analysis with a response to the opposition. However, you may include a transition at the end of Section 2 that summarizes your points of disagreement, which you will explain further in Section 3.Be charitable: Present the strongest opposing view in a way that would satisfy supporters of that view. Caution: Don’t misrepresent the opposition in order to make it easier to dismiss. That would not be fair (See strawman fallacyLinks to an external site.)Textual Evidence: Support the opposition’s argument with at least two references from the assigned reading. Use MLA in-text citations.
        • 3. Analysis (the argument in support of your thesis)
        • Present your argument in support of your thesis. Be sure to include your response to the opposition in this section. Responding to the strongest opposing view will make your argument more persuasive! Demonstrate the logical reasoning in support of your thesis. Arguments are FACTS and VALUES that mutually support a JUDGMENT or conclusion. Think of each body paragraph as an argument for why we should support your thesis. Use assigned class materials as well as clear and specific real-world examples to support your reasoning. Avoid vague or hypothetical evidence.Textual Evidence: Support your argument with at least three references from the assigned reading. Use MLA in-text citations.
        • Total word count
        • Works Cited page
        • PDFS to Ch. 1 and Ch. 3 Of Cathy Oneil Weapons of Math Destructions are attached, the other reading materials are as follows: 1. https://www.fastcompany.com/90342596/schools-are-q… 2.