IN THIS ISSUE

• Announcement from GitLab Foundation’s AI for Economic Opportunity Fund

• Insights from ongoing research with Kiva U.S.

• Welcoming new(ish) team members

• Shout-outs

• Where in the virtual world to find us

Learning Collider + GitLab Foundation

The GitLab Foundation’s AI for Economic Opportunity Fund is a commitment to drive $1 billion in new income for people earning below a living wage through the responsible use of technology such as AI, advanced data science, and cloud computing.

Learning Collider is 1 of 13 organizations selected to scale innovations that will advance economic mobility through AI. Alongside our StellarEmploy team, we’ll be working to optimize chatbots that engage and support the retention of hourly, frontline workers - helping users to overcome barriers to stable employment.

Meet our fellow grantees and their transformative work here.

Partner Spotlight: Kiva U.S.

Lenders often claim equitable decision-making but we rarely see the evidence to back it. Partnering with Kiva U.S. to evaluate and test their lending model demonstrates their commitment to evidence-based impact. Our shared interest is more accessible, equitable loans for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Peter Bergman | UT-Austin | Learning Collider Founder & Director

Our recent blog posts delve into our partnership with Kiva U.S. and the groundwork for building fair algorithms in lending. While research is still ongoing, we cover the study’s design and share preliminary analyses that help validate Kiva U.S.’s social underwriting model. Read more here.

Welcome to the lab!

A few months ago, three incredible folks joined the Learning Collider team. Tom, Crystal, and Joey each bring unique skills and perspectives to our lab, and we are thrilled to have them on the team!

Community Shout-outs

Help us send a virtual round of applause to so many incredible team members, research affiliates, and tech partners. In particular:

• Data Science Manager Nitya Raviprakash has received the honor of being a NationSwell Fellow for her work using data and AI to advance equitable opportunities.

• Data Scientist Leoson Hoay was recognized by INFORMS Chicago as the OR/Analytics Professional of the Year for his previous work at Urban Labs.

• Founder Peter Bergman and Education Innovation Executive and Investor Henry Hipps are launching Diffusion Venture Studio - follow on LinkedIn for updates.

• Research partner AllHere was named one of HolonIQ’s 200 most promising EdTech startups in North America. Plus, CEO Joanna Smith-Griffin and AllHere have taken substantial roles in shaping SIIA’s Principles for the Future of AI in Education, serving on the AI in Education Steering Committee and actively leading the industry in developing responsible technology.

• Affiliates Moitshepi Matsheng and Noam Angrist of Youth Impact were named to Vox’s Future Perfect 50 list for turning research into action in their important work reducing HIV transmission in Botswana.

• Affiliates Anjali Adukia and Alex Eble of MiiE Lab had their innovative research, What We Teach About Race and Gender: Representation in Images and Text of Children’s Books, published in The Quarterly Journal of Economics.

• Affiliate Peter Hull’s research with Joshua Angrist & Christopher Walters, Methods for Measuring School Effectiveness, was published in Handbook of the Economics of Education, Volume 7, Chapter 1.

Amidst this season of giving and gratitude, we want to share our genuine thanks to everyone in our lab’s network. If we missed any awards and honors, let us know!

Where to Find Us

Given the demise of a certain social media platform, we’re ramping up content on LinkedIn. Follow us for research updates and spotlights on people and partnerships in our network.

Follow our blog on Medium where you can sign up for email alerts when new articles are posted, including more technical how-tos from our Data Science team.

You can also find us on BlueSky: @LearningCollider. (If you’d like an invite code, email abbey@learningcollider.org.)

As always, feel free to connect here - just hit reply.