研究发现表格数据公平性提升常需牺牲优势群体,但针对性优化或可打破零和困局。
Software Fairness Dilemma: Is Bias Mitigation a Zero-Sum Game?
- 针对弱势群体单独使用先进去偏方法,避免整体性能下降
- 8种方法在44个任务中均呈现零和效应,弱化优势群体收益
- 为实际应用提供非零和路径,推动公平算法落地
公平性是机器学习软件的关键要求,催生了大量去偏方法。先前研究发现计算机视觉与自然语言处理任务中存在‘水平拉低’效应:通过降低所有群体表现来实现公平,却未真正惠及弱势群体。但这一现象是否适用于具有重要现实意义的表格数据任务尚不明确。本研究在5个真实世界数据集、4种常见模型上,评估了8种广泛使用及前沿的表格数据去偏方法,覆盖44项任务。结果表明,这些方法呈现零和特性——弱势群体收益的提升往往伴随优势群体利益的损失。然而,零和感知可能阻碍公平政策推广。为此,我们探索仅对弱势群体应用前沿去偏方法的策略,结果显示其可提升弱势群体收益,同时不影响优势群体或整体性能。研究揭示了实现非零和公平性的潜在路径,有助于推动去偏方法的实际采纳。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Fairness is a critical requirement for Machine Learning (ML) software, driving the development of numerous bias mitigation methods. Previous research has identified a leveling-down effect in bias mitigation for computer vision and natural language processing tasks, where fairness is achieved by lowering performance for all groups without benefiting the unprivileged group. However, it remains unclear whether this effect applies to bias mitigation for tabular data tasks, a key area in fairness research with significant real-world applications. This study evaluates eight bias mitigation methods for tabular data, including both widely used and cutting-edge approaches, across 44 tasks using five real-world datasets and four common ML models. Contrary to earlier findings, our results show that these methods operate in a zero-sum fashion, where improvements for unprivileged groups are related to reduced benefits for traditionally privileged groups. However, previous research indicates that the perception of a zero-sum trade-off might complicate the broader adoption of fairness policies. To explore alternatives, we investigate an approach that applies the state-of-the-art bias mitigation method solely to unprivileged groups, showing potential to enhance benefits of unprivileged groups without negatively affecting privileged groups or overall ML performance. Our study highlights potential pathways for achieving fairness improvements without zero-sum trade-offs, which could help advance the adoption of bias mitigation methods.
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