ARTICLES

Sharing New Initiatives &
Success from 2023

Four people stand around a large vertical banner inside a brightly lit and somewhat busy room. On the far left is Leslie Joe, a long-haired short brunette woman wearing a Data Science Alliance (DSA) white shirt that reads “DATA SCIENCE ALLIANCE” in thin blue text. To the right is Czarina Argana, a woman with medium-length dark-brown and pink hair, wearing a navy-blue DSA shirt with white text. Both of them sport lime-green lanyards with purple badges. To the right of them and in the center of the photo is a banner that reads “SDxAI” in large dark-purple and white font, the background a shifting gradient of purples, and the bottom of the banner hosting a short list of brand names and logos. Those brands are the following: Qualcomm, UN San Diego, Keshif Ventures, EyePop.ai, gravityAI, and Launch Factory. To the right of the banner stands Kai Ni, a taller brunette man wearing a black DSA shirt with orange text and falling leaves on it. To the right is Daphne Fabella, a short-haired brunette woman wearing another navy-blue DSA shirt with white text. These two wear purple lanyards and purple badges. They all stand in a room with tall ceilings and many windows, the walls made of white plaster, tile, and wood, and gray concrete pillars.

The Responsible Data Working Group and DSA volunteers ready for a new year of opportunities.

Written by
Mehri Sadri
Published on
March 12, 2024
On February 22, the Data Science Alliance (DSA) brought together our Responsible Data Working Group and volunteers to celebrate last year’s achievements and share what 2024 has to offer.
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Sharing New Initiatives & Success from 2023
By Mehri Sadri

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The meeting kicked off with Executive Director Patricia Lopez announcing that in 2023, DSA increased our number of interns and volunteers, and doubled the number of working group members and donors. We also expanded our project outreach efforts: building upon current partnerships, such as ones with Feeding San Diego and the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, and forming new ones with stakeholders like a globally renowned nonprofit zoo. Through these collaborations, Lopez said she looks forward to pursuing projects that allow DSA to use data for societal good. 

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The DSA team also shared progress and next steps for the in-house Responsible Data Science Game project, a video game platform being made to teach and increase awareness of responsible data practices. With the help of our student interns, the project is on track to deliver a complete storyline by the end of Q1.

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Working group members and volunteers mingle ahead of the first meeting of 2024.

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DSA made an exciting announcement as well—the second version of the Responsible Data Science Framework was published at the end of February through the hard work and generosity of volunteers and RD Working Group members. The document includes updated definitions of the RDS principles and an expansion of content in each section. The new methodology includes factors on anonymization, data lifecycle, model accuracy versus interpretability, metrics evaluation, and more. We are thrilled to provide this updated resource as a tool for organizations and individuals to implement RDS practices in their projects and models.

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The meeting ended with a dynamic discussion between the DSA team, working group members, and volunteers on next steps, with the next meeting planned for April 25. If you’re interested in learning more about the working professionals in this group, click here.

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