Fair Clustering: Critique, Caveats, and Future Directions

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Dickerson, John, Esmaeili, Seyed A., Morgenstern, Jamie, Zhang, Claire Jie
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866909229958299648
author Dickerson, John
Esmaeili, Seyed A.
Morgenstern, Jamie
Zhang, Claire Jie
author_facet Dickerson, John
Esmaeili, Seyed A.
Morgenstern, Jamie
Zhang, Claire Jie
contents Clustering is a fundamental problem in machine learning and operations research. Therefore, given the fact that fairness considerations have become of paramount importance in algorithm design, fairness in clustering has received significant attention from the research community. The literature on fair clustering has resulted in a collection of interesting fairness notions and elaborate algorithms. In this paper, we take a critical view of fair clustering, identifying a collection of ignored issues such as the lack of a clear utility characterization and the difficulty in accounting for the downstream effects of a fair clustering algorithm in machine learning settings. In some cases, we demonstrate examples where the application of a fair clustering algorithm can have significant negative impacts on social welfare. We end by identifying a collection of steps that would lead towards more impactful research in fair clustering.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_15960
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Fair Clustering: Critique, Caveats, and Future Directions
Dickerson, John
Esmaeili, Seyed A.
Morgenstern, Jamie
Zhang, Claire Jie
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Computers and Society
Data Structures and Algorithms
Clustering is a fundamental problem in machine learning and operations research. Therefore, given the fact that fairness considerations have become of paramount importance in algorithm design, fairness in clustering has received significant attention from the research community. The literature on fair clustering has resulted in a collection of interesting fairness notions and elaborate algorithms. In this paper, we take a critical view of fair clustering, identifying a collection of ignored issues such as the lack of a clear utility characterization and the difficulty in accounting for the downstream effects of a fair clustering algorithm in machine learning settings. In some cases, we demonstrate examples where the application of a fair clustering algorithm can have significant negative impacts on social welfare. We end by identifying a collection of steps that would lead towards more impactful research in fair clustering.
title Fair Clustering: Critique, Caveats, and Future Directions
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Computers and Society
Data Structures and Algorithms
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.15960