Midterm 2

Midterm 2 is due by Weds Oct 30 at 11:59 pm.  Late submissions are allowed but will be assessed a penalty as described in Late Work on syllabus.

 The exam is based on our text Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil. You may consult this book and other resources, but please do not discuss the exam with other human beings. Your answers must be expressed in your own words so please continue to follow our policy on not using AI writing tools in any way (as described in our syllabus and reproduced below).

Please prepare your exam answers in the same way you have been preparing your personal essays - compose your answers entirely in a single Google Doc  and then submit a single URL when the exam is finished. Make sure that you have the Doc set so that anyone with the link is an editor. Your version history must show the complete evolution of all your answers from start to finish, so please do not start your answers somewhere else and then cut and paste them. 

If you have questions about the exam, please post those to this thread on the discussion list on Canvas so that  everyone gets the same information about the exam. Please allow up to 12 hours for a response to questions.

There are four exam questions. Your response to each question must have a minimum word length of 500 words (like our personal essays). Please make sure to number your responses in your Google Doc. You do not need to copy the question into your response although you can if you find that helpful. Do not of course include the questions in your word count. 

Each question asks you to pick a "case" from our book Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil to discuss. A case is a specific example of a WMD that is found in this book. You can only use a selected case in one question, and each question must focus on a case from a different chapter.  Given these constraints you may want to decide which case you will focus on in each question prior to composing your more detailed responses. In each question make sure to indicate the number and name of the chapter your WMD comes from, and please be specific in addressing each part of each question.

Start of Midterm 2 Questions

1. [5 points] This question focuses on the idea of proxies. Pick a case from our book and discuss the proxies that are used in it.  Describe what your selected WMD does and what proxies it uses and why those cause problems and contribute to making it a WMD. What kind of information would be better than the proxies used? Would it still be a WMD if it used the information you propose? Why or why not? 

2. [5 points] This question focuses on the idea of feedback loops. Pick a case from our book and discuss the feedback loop/s that exist in that WMD.  Describe what your selected WMD does and what feedback loop/s it creates and why those cause problems and contribute to making it a WMD. How could these feedback loop/s be broken? If they were broken, would it still be a WMD? Why or why not? 

3. [5 points] This question focuses on correlation versus causation. Pick a case from our book that illustrates the dangers of confusing correlation with causation. Describe what your selected WMD does and how it confuses correlation with causation and why that causes problems and contributes to making it a WMD. Why do you think this confusion occurred? How could it have been avoided? If it were avoided, would it still be a WMD? Why or why not? 

4. [5 points] Please read through the ACM Code of Ethics. Pick a case from our book and evaluate it in terms of compliance with the principles of this code. Discuss five principles from the ACM Code that your selected WMD violates. Make sure to describe each principle, provide the number it is referred to by, and explain how it is violated by your selected WMD. Describe actions that could have been taken to follow the violated principles. Could that have prevented it from becoming a WMD? Why or why not?

End of Midterm 2 Questions

Please follow our policy on Use of AI Writing Tools (from our syllabus)

Please do not use automated writing tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly, CoPilot, etc. at any point in developing work for this class. This includes our Personal Essays, any take home Exams, and your Podcast. Do not use them for brainstorming ideas, do not use them for writing, and do not use them for polishing or correcting your work. 

All of your written work should be composed entirely in Google Docs. You may use the spelling and grammar checking tools provided in the standard version of Google Docs but do not use or add-on anything beyond that for any of our assignments.  

Why such a strict policy? I read all of your written assignments and exams. I listen to your podcasts. I do not offload the grading of your work on to a teaching assistant or an automated AI tool. I read what you submit carefully, and I would like to hear your own unique voice come through in the work you do for this class. I genuinely enjoy this experience. These tools obscure your voice and restrict your imagination. They make you sound more generic and less like the unique individual that you are. 

Any work that you submit in this class must be uniquely and exclusively written by you. This means no AI Writing Tools, it also means no cutting and pasting or overly close paraphrasing from other sources (which is essentially what these AI tools do, just in a very fancy and elaborate way). If you submit work that you did not uniquely and exclusively create, you may receive a 0 on that assignment.