Organizations delivering services through digital technology have the opportunity to use machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve their products and services.
When training and education are provided through digital technology, it is possible to customize the individual’s experience based on their characteristics as well as their prior interaction with the application. Machine learning methods can be applied to estimate what works for whom, and why. The lab specializes in adapting machine learning methods to focus on heterogeneity in the effect of interventions. Planning experiments with the goal of learning about heterogeneity is another area of interest.
Another area of focus is developing algorithms that are used to improve personalization for digital services. Innovations in machine learning in the last decade have led to improvements in algorithms for making recommendations to individuals about content, and these can be applied to, for example, recommend stories to students in an educational application. Artificial intelligence can be used to “get to know” an individual and adapt the information presented based on previous experience; the lab makes use of methods such as multi-armed bandit algorithms and reinforcement learning to accomplish this.
Many commonly used methods in artificial intelligence are designed for large systems with many users, in environments where mistakes have few consequences. The lab works to customize and improve these algorithms for the context in which we apply them, where the user base may be smaller and mistakes more costly, such as educational applications.
Project Abstracts
Read about a few of the research projects the lab is currently working on.
Academic Publications
Presidential Address: The Economist as Designer in the Innovation Process for Socially Impactful Digital Products
Machine Learning Who to Nudge: Causal vs Predictive Targeting in a Field Experiment on Student Financial Aid Renewal
Evaluating Treatment Prioritization Rules via Rank-Weighted Average Treatment Effects
Qini Curves for Multi-Armed Treatment Rules
Tools & Tutorials
Explore and apply the tools and tutorials created by the lab.
Interviews & Thought Leadership
Learn firsthand from researchers and practitioners associated with the lab.