Datasheets for Datasets

Abstract

The machine learning community currently has no standardized process for documenting datasets, which can lead to severe consequences in high-stakes domains. To address this gap, we propose datasheets for datasets. In the electronics industry, every component, no matter how simple or complex, is accompanied with a datasheet that describes its operating characteristics, test results, recommended uses, and other information. By analogy, we propose that every dataset be accompanied with a datasheet that documents its motivation, composition, collection process, recommended uses, and so on. Datasheets for datasets will facilitate better communication between dataset creators and dataset consumers, and encourage the machine learning community to prioritize transparency and accountability.

The authors' own abstract, copied from arxiv.org.

How to cite it

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Gebru, T., Morgenstern, J., Vecchione, B., Vaughan, J. W., Wallach, H., et al. (2018). Datasheets for Datasets. Preprint, not yet peer-reviewed. https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.09010

Gebru, Timnit, et al. "Datasheets for Datasets." Preprint, not yet peer-reviewed, 2018, https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.09010.

@article{gebru2018datasheets,
  title = {Datasheets for Datasets},
  author = {Timnit Gebru and Jamie Morgenstern and Briana Vecchione and Jennifer Wortman Vaughan and Hanna Wallach and others},
  journal = {Preprint, not yet peer-reviewed},
  year = {2018},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.09010},
}

What it is

Borrows the electronics-industry datasheet idea for training data: how it was collected, who is in it, who consented, and what it should not be used for. Free on arXiv.

Topics