Abstract

Online social networks often mirror community formation in real-world networks (based on common demographics, interests, or affinities). Such patterns are often picked up and used by algorithms that leverage social data for the purpose of providing recommendations, diffusing information, or forming groups. In this talk, we'll discuss the influence maximization problem where multiple communities exist, showing that common centrality metrics may exclude minority communities from adopting the information diffused. Using the preferential attachment model with unequal communities, we'll characterize the relationship between homophily, network centrality, and bias through the power-law degree distributions of the nodes, and study the conditions in which diversity interventions can actually yield more efficient and equitable outcomes. We find a theoretical condition on the seedset size that explains the potential trade-off between outreach and diversity in information diffusion. To wrap up, we’ll discuss a novel set of algorithms that leverage the network structure to maximize the diffusion of a message while not creating disparate impact among participants based on community affiliation.