Beyond RMSE and MAE: Introducing EAUC to unmask hidden bias and unfairness in dyadic regression models

Paz-Ruza, Jorge, Alonso-Betanzos, Amparo, Guijarro-Berdiñas, Bertha, Cancela, Brais, Eiras-Franco, Carlos

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence 

This research paper delves into three interrelated aspects: regression over dyadic data, the evaluation of such tasks, and the pervasive issue of unfairness biases in AI. Dyadic data systems play a significant role in our data-driven world, being at the core of recommendation engines, personalized content delivery, and countless applications which involve understanding complex relationships between entities like products, movies, or even potential job candidates. In these contexts, regression over dyadic data becomes the process of predicting values for a given pair of entities, such as user ratings for specific products or evaluating the suitability of a job applicant. These predictions can influence anything, from purchasing decisions to employment opportunities. However, within these critical tasks, the presence of biases related to unfairness can have profound implications, such as disparate impacts on minority or vulnerable groups, unequal access to opportunities, and discriminatory decision-making processes [1] [2]. From a legal perspective, regulations and guidelines are emerging globally to ensure fairness and ethics in AI systems. For instance, the European Union's AI Act will regulate that AI systems must