Fight Linguistic Bias in NLP and Make Your First WordCloud
There is a large disparity at play in data science within the realm of Natural Language Processing (NLP). And as both an aspiring data scientist and a linguaphile, I’m concerned. The NLP sector of data science is overwhelmingly focused on English, so much so that Professor Emily M. Bender of the University of Washington felt the need to tweet this:
And thus began the #BenderRule. This was not a hashtag that Professor Bender created herself in order to become a trending topic, but rather a personal view of hers that struck a chord with many other linguists and computer…
Opinion
Think Ethically from the Beginning
As an aspiring data scientist immersed in a data science bootcamp at the moment, “how can I work ethically from the get go?” That’s the question that pervaded my mind as I watched The Social Dilemma and listened to Tristan Harris and Cathy O’Neil, among many others, discuss the dangers of big data and these unmanned, black box algorithms that penetrate our subconscious minds and make decisions for us that we no longer understand. The stories of these whistleblowers lumped into a non-existent group informally known as the “Conscience of Silicon Valley” are disturbing. But they aren’t wrong, and they’re…
Geography is making a comeback, and it owes a big “thank you” to Data Science
Geography, That’s Like Maps and Stuff, Right?
If your experience learning geography growing up was anything like mine, then you too can name (almost) all 50 states and their corresponding capitals. Perhaps if you’re not American you are able to name the different provinces of your nation and their capitals, and probably some more. Let’s give ourselves a pat on the back for that! It probably won’t shock you then, when I tell you I decided to major in the field of “naming US capitals,” more broadly known as “Geography,” I was greeted with a lot of blank stares. From what I can tell, most Americans are…
If you’re anything like me, getting started on your data science journey, GitHub loomed about you as this pervasive treasure trove of open source code. You weren’t exactly sure how to get involved, but you knew one day future employers would look to it as your portfolio of sorts. You aspired to one day join the ranks of GitHub and share some of your own elegant code for the world to pour over and glean some meaningful insight or inspiration from it. Just me?
Well if that was you, then like me, you didn’t really start to scratch the surface…
David Bruce
Data Scientist. Lover of language. Always learning.
