Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Award

Christo Wilson

Associate Professor of Computer Science

Professor Wilson’s pioneering research demonstrates a commitment to public service and has helped define a new area of algorithm auditing, which addresses one of the most pressing issues in computer science: fairness, interpretability, and accountability in artificial intelligence. He was the first researcher to empirically measure ridesharing systems to understand whether their pricing models were gouging customers, and whether customers had equitable access to rides, regardless of geographic or socio-economic disparities. He’s uncovered that travel sites sometimes present higher-priced products more prominently than less-expensive options; found gender discrimination in online job finding sites; and presented an understanding of political bias in search ranking algorithms. His body of work has earned him the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship.