June 26th, 2024

The question of what's fair illuminates the question of what's hard

Computational complexity theorists repurpose fairness tools to analyze complex problems. Transitioning from multiaccuracy to multicalibration enhances understanding and simplifies approximating hard functions, benefiting algorithmic fairness and complexity theory.

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The question of what's fair illuminates the question of what's hard

The article discusses how computational complexity theorists are using tools from algorithmic fairness to analyze hard-to-understand problems. By repurposing fairness tools used in banking and insurance algorithms, researchers can map out the complex parts of a problem and identify what makes it difficult to solve. The article highlights the transition from using multiaccuracy to multicalibration in fairness research, showing how these tools can be applied to strengthen existing theorems in complexity theory. The trio of researchers from Harvard University established connections between fairness tools and complexity theory, demonstrating that multicalibration can enhance the understanding of hard problems by identifying specific inputs that are challenging to solve. By applying multicalibration, researchers were able to simplify the process of approximating hard functions, reducing the number of splits needed to identify difficult inputs. This innovative approach has implications for both fairness in algorithmic decision-making and advancing the understanding of complex computational problems.

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