02/07/2024
By Joris Roos

The Department of Mathematics & Statistics invites you to attend a colloquium talk delivered by Keith Merrill from Brandeis University.

The talk will be delivered in person, but it is also possible to attend via Zoom. Everyone is welcome.

Title: Formal privacy definitions in official statistics
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 14
Time: 11 a.m. - Noon
Room: Southwick 350W

Abstract: The concept of privacy has undergone significant changes in the last century, particularly in light of the preponderance of data collected about individuals in modern society. In this talk, we will discuss some famous examples of "privacy violations," how they have shaped modern notions of privacy, and how official statistical releases must try to balance the inherent trade-off between accuracy of data and the privacy guarantees made to data subjects. We will recount the path towards a formal mathematical definition of what it means for a data release to be "private." We will also see how such definitions interact with numerous laws and other obligations by data curators. The result is an emerging subfield of computer science which is a fascinating mix of mathematics, statistics, psychology, and law.
This talk should be accessible to a wide audience, no prior knowledge of the field is assumed.

For future events in this colloquium series, visit the Mathematics website.