6.3952

Introduction to fundamentals of modern data-driven decision-making frameworks, such as causal inference and hypothesis testing in statistics as well as supervised and reinforcement learning in machine learning. Explores how these frameworks are being applied in various societal contexts, including criminal justice, healthcare, finance, and social media. Emphasis on pinpointing the non-obvious interactions, undesirable feedback loops, and unintended consequences that arise in such settings. Enables students to develop their own principled perspective on the interface of data-driven decision making and society. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments.