arXiv Machine Learning

Equality, Equity, and Causality in Fairness Research: A Commentary on Cheng (2026)

arXiv:2607. 17679v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: This is an invited commentary on the Psychometrika focus article "Fairness Issues and Evaluation in Psychometrics and AI/ML: What Can We Learn from Each Field?

arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 15

From Network Inequality to Network Fairness: A Perspective on Responsible Decision-Making

The article discusses how social networks influence decision-making and opportunity distribution, noting that network-generating mechanisms often mirror existing inequalities and can amplify disparities when used in technology. It identifies ten network effects that bias the link between intended measurements and observed data, using academic hiring as a case study to show that network biases can be neither inherently harmful nor beneficial. The authors argue for a comprehensive, networked fairness framework that incorporates both distributive and procedural justice and involves all stakeholders.

By Lisette Esp\'in-Noboa, Tina Eliassi-Rad, Pak-Hang Wong, Erich Prem, Meike Zehlike, Ricardo Baeza-Yates, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Fariba Karimi
arXiv AI
Sep 18

The AR Fairness Metamodel: A Structured Framework for Fairness Measures

The paper introduces the AR Fairness Metamodel, a structured framework for representing, analyzing, and comparing fairness scenarios. It incorporates key elements such as agents, resources, and their attributes, and supports both discrete and continuous fairness measures—including equality, equity, group fairness, individual fairness, the Gini index, the Theil index, Jain's fairness index, and a specific measure for Australia's Child Care Subsidy. The metamodel builds on the Tiles framework, offering modular components that can be connected to capture diverse fairness definitions, and includes formal proofs of relationships among group fairness, individual fairness, and envy‑freeness. An open‑source implementation of the Tiles framework is provided to facilitate practical fairness modeling and evaluation across various applications.

By Julian Alfredo Mendez, Timotheus Kampik
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 11

On the Societal Impact of Machine Learning

This PhD thesis examines how machine learning (ML) influences society, noting that ML increasingly shapes consequential decisions and recommendations. It highlights the risk of discriminatory effects when fairness is not explicitly considered in data‑driven systems. The work proposes methods for measuring fairness, decomposing ML systems to anticipate bias, and implementing interventions that reduce discrimination while preserving utility, and it outlines future research directions as ML, including generative AI, becomes more integrated into society.

By Joachim Baumann
arXiv AI
Aug 19

Position: Fairness Failure in Generative Models is an Evaluation Problem

The paper argues that fairness failures in generative models arise mainly from inadequate evaluation practices, making fairness findings hard to compare or use for deployment. It diagnoses common empirical and conceptual shortcomings in current methods and calls for a move toward standardized, generative‑specific evaluation. The authors introduce Fairness Cards, a minimal reporting artifact that explicitly documents evaluation choices—such as prompt families, counterfactual protocols, metrics, and refusal handling—to improve reproducibility, comparability, and accountability.

By Mariia Vladimirova, Jean-Yves Franceschi, Thibaut Issenhuth
arXiv Machine Learning
Jun 2

Beyond Procedure: Substantive Fairness in Conformal Prediction

arXiv:2602. 16794v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Conformal prediction (CP) offers distribution-free uncertainty quantification for machine learning models, yet its interplay with fairness in downstream decision-making remains underexplored.

By Pengqi Liu, Zijun Yu, Mouloud Belbahri, Arthur Charpentier, Masoud Asgharian, Jesse C. Cresswell
arXiv Machine Learning
Jul 31

Procedural Fairness in Multi-Agent Bandits

arXiv:2601. 10600v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: In the context of multi-agent multi-armed bandits (MA-MAB), fairness is often reduced to outcomes: maximizing welfare, reducing inequality, or balancing utilities.

By Joshua Caiata, Carter Blair, Kate Larson