Wednesday, April 4, 2018
A study by Amira Ghenai, a computer science PhD candidate supervised by Management Sciences professor Mark Smucker, found that search engine results have a "significant effect on people's ability to make correct treatment decisions." Search results biased with incorrect information can lead to worse treatment decisions than not receiving any information at all. This is particularly concerning in cases when people seek treatment for serious illnesses.
Another co-author in this study was Frances Pogacar, who came up with the research idea as part of her work in the course MSCI 541: Search Engines.
See the original article and research paper.