Clinical Assistant Professor Jack Bandy joins CS faculty
Clinical Assistant Professor Jack Bandy joins CS faculty
Jack Bandy joined the CS faculty in August. He is focused on the social side of computer science, including human-computer interaction, computer ethics, and the social implications of computing.
Before joining UIC, Bandy was an assistant professor at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. There, he taught a variety of courses, including introduction to computer science, human-computer interaction, fairness and bias in algorithms, programming, and discrete mathematics.
While he enjoys some of the purely technical aspects of computer science, he especially enjoys studying human interaction with computers.
“I’ve found that the real world is not really structured for perfect algorithms,” Bandy said. “I’ve gone more toward the messier side, the socio-technical side of computer science that deals with humans in the real world; human systems and all the messiness.”
Bandy’s road to UIC
Bandy is happy to return to the Chicago area, a place where he earned his BS in computer science from Wheaton College, and returned for PhD studies at Northwestern University, in computer science and communications studies. He also earned his MS in computer science from the University of Kentucky.
He remembers passing UIC during his undergraduate days, thinking how wonderful it was for a university campus to be so close to all the city has to offer. He also appreciates UIC’s commitment to developing students into informed citizens who are meaningfully engaged with their communities.
Bandy is especially interested in social media and its implications for society.
“I’m interested in what it means to have these screens and machines and algorithms going between our human interactions,” Bandy said.
Bandy worked at Twitter (now X) as an ethics intern, when the company was more focused on content moderation and employed a team of researchers in machine learning ethics, transparency, and accountability. He tracked how Twitter’s algorithms either amplified or hid toxic or marginal content from its users.
“It was really cool to work with data at that scale,” Bandy said. “I try to bring those insights into my teaching.”
This fall, Bandy will teach CS377, Ethical Issues in Computing, a course required of all CS students.
Bandy said he enjoys talking to people, and if his door is open to stop by. He’s happy to talk about computer science, and also enjoys talking about birds and movies, two of his passions.