Overview

This webpage provides information for the informal Machine Learning (ML) and Economics group at the Department of Economics, University of Oxford, coordinated by Maximilian Kasy.

The goal of this group is to discuss research and develop a common research agenda at the intersection of ML and economics. The focus is on conceptual and methodological contributions of economics to ML and of ML to economics. These two fields share a common language in the frameworks of optimization, probability, and decision theory. Economics has much to contribute to ML with its considerations of multiple agents, inequality and conflicting interests, and private information. ML has much to contribute to economics with its insights on supervised and active learning, considerations of non-traditional data types, and adaptive decision-making. Special emphasis will be put on the social impact of ML, and on non-commercial applications of ML.

Activities

Upcoming

  • Bi-weekly reading and discussion group on ML and economics, meeting in even weeks of term.
  • Youtube channel of workshops and discussions.

Previous

Reading and discussion group

Michaelmas term 2024

  • Time: 2:30pm, Tuesdays in even weeks. (That is: 22 Oct, 5 Nov, 19 Nov, and 3 Dec)
  • Location: SR A, Manor Road Building (There will be coffee and pastries!).
  • For those who cannot make in person, please join via Zoom.

Topic: Explainability and explanations

Hilary term 2024

Topic: Applications of AI
Curation this term thanks to Friedrich Geiecke!

Tentative outline:

Michaelmas term 2023

Topic: Large Language Models.

Hilary term 2023

This term we will be discussing several chapters of the book Prediction, learning, and games by Nicolò Cesa-Bianchi and Gábor Lugosi. This book builds on ideas in game theory and learning theory, and provides a comprehensive framework for online decision-making and adversarial learning.

We will cover the following chapters:

  • W2: Chapter 2 (Prediction with expert advice)
  • W4: Chapter 4 (Randomized prediction)
  • W6: Chapter 6 (Prediction with limited feedback)
  • W8: Chapter 7 (Prediction and playing games)

Michaelmas term 2022

No meetings (Max on sabbatical at MIT).

Trinity term 2022

Hilary term 2022